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University  of  California 


FKdM     THK    IIHKAKY    « »F 

DR.     FRANCIS     L  1  K  15  K  K  . 

I'rutVsM.i  .  f  lli-lory  and  I.nw  in  C<.lunil)ia  C-IU'^-.  X^'^v  ^'•*^^- 

THK  (iii-r  oi-  /^  V  CU' 

MICHAEL    REESE,  ^^^ 


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University  of  California, 


CIRCULA  TING     B  R  A  N CII . 


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GLOSSOLOGY: 


BEING  A  TREATISE  ON  THE 


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NATURE   OF    LANGUAGE 


AND  ON  THE 


LANGUAGE 


NATURE. 


CHARLES  KRAITSIR,  M.  D. 


NEW-YORK: 

PUBLISHED     FOR     THE     AUTHOR. 

GEORGE    P.    PUTNAM,    10   PARK-PLACE. 
J  852. 


1   ; 


% 


Sir 


r-4r: 


TO  THE  EEADEli. 

This  treatise  is  not  a  mere  collection  of  trivial  remarks  or  of  the 
usual  views  on  Human  Speech,  considered  either  as  a  vehicle  of  in- 
tercourse between  men  or  as  a  key  to  unlock  the  literary  treasures  of 
a  specific  language  with.  It  is  analogous  to  a  treatise  on  Navigation 
or  on  Architecture  or  on  Matena  Medica ;  each  one  being  taken  with 
reference  to  the  whole  cycle  of  the  respective  sciences,  of  which  it  is 
composed.  As  each  of  those  treatises  is, — as  it  were, — a  sort  of 
nosegay  or  bouquet  of  flowei-s,  culled  from  the  several  beds  of  their 
scientific  gardens :  so  is  the  present  book  intended  to  be  a  kind  of 
brain-,  eai-s-  and  eyes-gay,  gathered  from  the  psychologic,  anatomic 
acoustic,  graphic,  grammatic,  lexiconic,  ethnographic,  etc.,  beds  of 
the  garden  of  Anthropology. 

May  it  not  prove  to  be  a  brain-,  ear-  and  eye-sore  to  any  body. 

The  mode  of  treatment  of  the  subject  will  be  found  pecuhar. 
The  poet's  "  laudatur  ah  his  culpatur  ah  illis'''  will  be  practised  on 
it,  with  the  verbosity  of  our  age ;  according  to  the  intellectual,  moral 
and  aesthetic  character  of  each  reader.  Blame,  unless  it  be  unjust, 
will  be  less  disagi*eeable  than  thoughtless  praise. 

The  writer  pleads  guilty  to  great  compression  of  style.  But  had 
he  expanded  his  material  in  the  customaiy  manner,  the  book  would 
be,  at  least,  three  times  more  bulky,  consequently  more  costly,  and 
would  require  more  time  for  perusal.  Only  minds  unaccustomed  to 
masticate  the  food,  offered  to  them  in  the  infinite  realm  of  creation, 
will  find  the  style  obscure  in  some  parts.     Our  almost  innumer- 


IV  PREFACE. 

able  school-books  and  the  common  treatises  on  science, — courting 
popularity  at  any  price, — sin  just  in  the  opposite  direction.  Any 
body  may  make, — so  to  say, — pufF-paste  of  the  compact  substance 
here  laid  before  him,  by  diluting  and  inflating  it  -with  the  usual  mass 
of  tautologies  and  other  unmeaning  circumlocutions. 

Should  the  aim  of  the  book,  which  is  plainly  indicated  in  the 
Introduction  and  in  the  Conclusion,  be  approved  by  a  fair  amount  of 
public  favor,  other  treatises,  both  carrying  out  the  hints  of  the  present 
and  bearing  upon  other  subjects  of  paedagogic  and  of  popular  edu- 
cation, whether  elementary  or  of  a  higher  degree,  will  thus  be  invited 
into  existence. 

The  United  States  have  declared  themselves  independent  from 

Koyal  Great  Britain   on  the  4th  of  July.     That  they  may  become 

independent  also  from  medieval  scholasticity  is  the  most  ardent  wish 

of  him  who  wi'ites  these  Hnes,  on  the  homarithmic  YGth  anniversary 

of  that  Glorious  Day, 

Charles  Kraitsir,  M.  D. 
New-York. 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction. — Philology ;  Glossology ;  Grammar ;  Bacon  on  Words ;  Ap- 
peal to  study ;  Education  of  children  ;  Speilihg-books  ;  Study  of  lan- 
guage ;  Aim  of  the  work ;  Mission  of  the  English  nations ;  Earopeo- 
American  language;  J.  Wallis;  Latin  and  German  parents  of  English ; 
Universities;  Excellence  of  the  English  language  ;  Kadical  reform  of  in- 
struction, of  the  so-called  spelling ;  Eesults  of  a  sound  system  ;  Espe- 
cial points  aimed  at ;  Babel,  -  -  -  -  -  -      9 

Chap.  I.  Language. — The  tongue  the  principal  tool  of  expression ;  Defini- 
tions of  language  ;  Language  the  highest  of  all  human  energies ;  Speech 
a  necessary  function  of  raaa's  thoughts  and  sensations ;  Extract  from 
Humboldt's  Kosmos ;  Mankind  divided  into  varieties,  designated  by  the 
term  race;  Human  perfectibility,  -  -  -  -  -  -    21 

Chap.  III.  English  Language. — Corruption  of  the  Latin  language ;  Eeasons 
for  learning'  Latin ;  Its  importance  to  Glossology ;  Eev.  E.  N.  Kirk's 
Ik         letter  to  S.  P.  Andrews  on  the  merits  of  Phonography ;  Advantages  re- 
pf  "^     suiting  from  a  correct  pronunciation  of  Latin  ;  Language  ought  to  be 
written  in  harmony  with  its  sounds  ;  Importance  of  amending  its  pro- 
nunciation, -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -35 

Chap.  III.  Sounds  and  Letters. — Language  analogous  to  music  ;  Paramount 
importance  of  a  correct  beginning  ;  Elementary  instruction  in  language 
should  be  given  orally ;  Division  of  speech-sounds ;  Organs  of  speech  ; 
Table  showing  the  means  of  producing  the  vowel  sounds  ;  Scale  of  vow- 
fo,  els  likened  to  colors,  shapes  and  sensations ;  Vowel-elements  of  plasticity 

j|<  and  of  modifications ;  Affinity  of  vowels  to  guttural  consonants  ;  Neces- 
sity of  a  correct  view  of  the  Alphabet ;  Alphabet  as  now  used  in  writing 
the  German,  English,  and  with  some  slight  omissions,  the  greatest  num- 
ber of  the  European  languages ;  Explanation  of  the  Alphabet-table  ; 
Succincthistory  of  writing  \  Egyptian:  Images,  Hieroglyphs  as  the  mode 
of  representation  ;  Chinese  iconography  ;  Sanskrita's  Devanagari  and 
importance  of  its  arrangement ;  Hindostanee  and  Persian  ;  Phoenician 
Alphabet ;  Perfectharmony  cf  the  present  alphabet ;  All  Italic  alphabets 
derived  from  ancient  Greek  ;  Roman  alphabet ;  The  materials  for  wri- 
ting ;  The  Anglo-Saxon  alphabet  formed  from  the  Latin ;  Pronunciation 
of  the  present  modern  Greek  ;  Eussian  alphabet  formed  under  Peter  I. ; 
Alphabet  of  the  Armenians  ;  Alphabet  of  Georgia ;  Two  kinds  of  writ- 
ing in  Media  and  Persia ;  Ancient  Hebrew;  Ancient  Aramaic ;  Sassan- 
idic  ;  Zend  ;  Pehlvi ;  Alphabet  called  Estrangelo ;  The  cycle  of  alpha- 
betic writings  closed  with  Sabaeic ;  Writing  of  the  Arabs  ;  Celtic  graph- 
ic ;  Synoptic  resume  ;  Concordance  of  writing  the  same  sounds  in  Latin, 


VI  CONTENTS. 

German,  English,  French,  Italian,  Spanish  and  Portuguese ;  The  most 
remarkable  discrepancies  affect  the  most  important  elements  of  Lan- 
guage ;  The  dental  sounds  ;  The  liquid  sounds,  -  -  -      63 

Chap.  IV.  Germs  and  Koots. — Plato's  Cratylus,  and  othpr  philosophers  of 
antiquity — their  views  on  language ;  Elements  of  language ;  Pure  sylla- 
bles ;  Eoots;  Germs  of  all  languages  the  same;  Rationale  of  grammatic 
nomenclature ;  Logic  categories  of  a  sentence  or  proposition  the  real  parts 
of  speech;  Variations  in  the  grammar  of  languages ;  Examination  of  words ; 
Sanscrit  roots ;  Germs ;  Sounds ;  The  alphabet;  Signification  of  the  organ- 
ic germ  perceptible  only  in  simple  roots  :  gutturals,  labials,  dentals.  Un- 
guals, nas-ality ;  In  words,  five  predicaments  of  Sounds  and  Letters  : 
1.  The  logic — 2.  The  grammatic — 3.  The  euphonic — 4.  The  erroneous 
— 5.  The  superfluous  ;  Borne  nations  prefer  certain  sounds  to  others,      126 

CiiAP.  V.  "Words  and  Idioms. — In  Chinese,  the  name  and  root  but  one ;  Num- 
ber of  so-called  roots  in  German,  French,  Greek,  etc. ;  Words  framed 
by  grouping  the  germs  ;  Conjugation  of  verbs,  declension  common  to 
all  languages ;  Languages  differ,  not  by  roots,  but  by  the  use  of  roots 
and  words  ;  Common  modes  of  derivation  and  composition  ;  Combin- 
ation and  inflection  of  vowels  ;  Source  of  variety  in  the  Indo-Europ. 
languages ;  Examples ;  Certain  words  predominate  in  certain  lan- 
guages ;  Shifting  of  sounds  from  the  Latin  forms  in  Italian,  Spanish, 
Portuguese  and  French ;  Table  exhibiting  the  more  important  Latin 
combinations  as  altered  in  those  Romanic  languages ;  French  accent ; 
Examples  of  metamorphoses  of  words  ;  So-called  irregularities;  Logic  . 
variation  of  words  ;  Idiosyncrasy  of  each  language  ;  individualization 
and  assimilation  of  the  sense  ;  Original  poetry  of  the  human  mind ; 
Decay  of  Latin  and  rise  of  the  Romanio  languages,      -  -  -    179 

Conclusion,  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  215 

Excursus. — A)  History  and  Literature  of  Philology,  _  _  _    2I8 

B)  *'        "    Indo-European  languages,  -  -  -         230 

C)  Pronunciation  of  Latin,         _____    233 

D)  Mathematic  phraseology,  -  -  -  -         239 


REMARKS  AND  ABBREVIATIONS. 

From  the  usual  termination  of  adjectives  in  -ical  the  author  rejects  the 
^,  for  the  reason  given  on  p.  174.  He  ejects,  moreover,  the  -on-  from 
Teut^Tiic,  SlavoTiic,  etc  ,  rejects  -an  from  Anglic^Ti,  Gallic«?i,  etc.,  for  the 
same  reason.  Should,  however,  somebody  infer  from  this,  that  American 
ought  to  be  treated  in  the  same  way,  he  would  find  himself  mistaken ;  be- 
cause the  names  of  the  respective  countries  are  Anglia,  Gallia,  America, 
and  if  adjectives  were  derived  alike  from  all  three,  we  would  have  Angli- 
can,  Galilean,  AmericSican  or  Americcan. 

f.  i.  =  for  instance.  i.  e.  =  id  est,  viz.,  to  wit,  namely. 

G.  =  German.  Gr.  =  Greek. 

L.  =  Latin.  I.  =  Italian. 

S.  =  Spanish.  P.  =  Portuguese. 

F.  =  French. 

Sometimes  one  or  more  letters  are  added  to  those  capitals. 

Wherever  a  part  of  a  word  is  in  Italics  or  in  Capitiils,  the  part  so  mark- 
ed is  the  subject  in  speech. 

A  hyphen  after  a  letter  (thus  a-)  denotes  it  to  be  initial,  two  hyphens 
(thus  -n-)  point  it  out  as  medial  (within  the  word),  a  hyphen  before  a  letter 
(-s)  shows  it  to  be  final.    See  p.  199  especially.    A  hyphen  within  a  word, 

I  joins  its  parts. 
-j-,    =,    :,    :  :    are  used  as  in  Algebra.    See  p.  198. 


COERECTION  OF  ERRATA. 

Page  9,  line  16 :  MATTHI^,  and  of,  instead  of  or ;  last  line:  FRIESE.— 
P.  12,  1.  6  from  bottom:  simulacre. — P.  17,  1.  9:  brain-functions. — P.  23,  1.  7: 
Vernunft;  1.  12:  metior;  1.  19:  in,  inst.of  the  2dwith.— P.  29,1.5fr.bot.  :  take 
out  the  ,.— P.  80,  1.  12  fr.  bot. :  PrkTiard.—?.  31,  1.  17  :  take  out  the  first  ,.— 
P.  32, 1. 1 :  every-.— P.  38,  1.  24  :  put  in  after  naTlO  :  and  not.— P.  59, 1.  22 :  one 
another,  inst.  of  each  other. — P.  61, 1.  5  fr.  bot. :  anorganic. — P.  163, 1.  5  fr.  bot. : 
Instruction-Books. — P.  74,  1.  19  :  as,  for  are.— P.  76,  1.  13 :  middle  for  last.— P. 
77,  1.  23  :  Germans.— P.  80,  1.  1 :  put  a  comma  after  one.— P.  83,  last  1. :  The 
locusts,  for  These  latter.— P.  88, 1. 2 :  take  out  the  ,.— P.  89, 1.  2  fr.  bot. :  through. 
—P.  91,  1.  17 :  Kawi.— P.  92,  in  the  Table  :  put  a  ,  after  Eoman.— P.  95,  1.  8  fr. 
bot. :  of,  for  off.— P.  90,  1.  23  :  )  between  ^  and  ;  1.  3  fr.  bot. :  stichs.— P.  97, 
1.  4  :  CELT-IBEEIAN.— P.  98,  L  8  :  put  a  ,  after  occur;  last  1.  in  the  note  : 
put  a  ;  after  leich-t.— P.  99,  1. 1 :  era  for  cera.—V.  103,  1.  20  :  to  the.— P.  107,  1. 
16  and  23  :  exchange  Chinese  and  Jxipanese,  one  for  the  other ;  1.  25  :  put  in  a 
,  after  era.— P.  110, 1.  8  fr.  bot.:  Malayu.—V.  116,  1.  23:  take  out  the  ,  after 
language. — P.  118, 1.  22  :  condemned,  for  expressed  ;  1.  3  fr.  bot. :  put:  for ;. — 
P.  121,  1. 10  :  in,  forrinto  ;  1. 18 :  (ye) -roasted.— P.  123,  first  word :  tlti&.—?.  130, 
1.  2  fr.  bot. :  )  after  soul.— P.  132,  1.  9  :  Vi^t  a  ,  after  punctilious.— P.  142, 1.  20  : 
put  '*  before  And.— P.  143,  1.  13  :  put  a  jailer  is.— P.  146,  1.  7 :  put ;  and,  after 
languages. — P.  147,  1.  5  fr.  bot. :  strike  oiit  the  words  :  so  much  and. — P.  148, 
1.  10.  fr.  bot. :  put  a  ?  after  cloud.— P.  149,  1.  6  fr.  bot. :  at.—V.  151, 1.  2  and  3  : 
the  word  plain  is  contained  in  Field,  and  or  is  explained  under  ^W;?^. — P.  152, 
1. 18  :  put :  after  words. — P.  158, 1.  3 :  put  a  ,  for  ;.  1.  9  fr.  bot. :  put  a  ;  after 
sopor. — P.  163, 1.  6 :  ou,  for  on  ;  1.  23  :  put  a  ;  after  themselves ;  1.  7  fr.  bot. :  , 
lacessit.— P.  164,  1.4:  proclaiming;  1.  12:  put  127,  for  151.— P.  165,1.  10: 
denkbeeldcn ;  1. 17  :  of,  for  the  last  with  ;  1.  27  :  dgee.^V,  166,  1. 11 :  correla- 
ted; 1.  28:  pauca.— P.  167,  1.  28:  take  out  the,  after  rather;  1.  29:  put 
a  —  after  dialects.— P.  169,  1.  28  :  put  a  ;  after  log.— P.  172,  1.  1 :  five,  for  four  ; 
1.  14 :  4,  for  7 ;  1.  27  :  -ate  should  be  in  italics.- P.  175,  1. 1 :  this,  for  the ;  1. 
81 :  put  a  ;  after  obligatio ;  1.  8  fr.  bot. :  put  a-t,  after  supinifying. — P.  177,  1. 
13  :  put  a  ;  after  schematic ;  1. 15  :  also  a  ;  after  speech. — ^P.  180, 1.  4 :  put  a  , 
after  verve;  1.  9  :  living  word!;  1. 10:  put  a  ,  after  sounds;  1.  16:  put  a  : 
after  ones.— P.  181,  1.  7  :  foundation.— P.  182, 1.  23 :  our,  for  this.— P.  188, 1. 2u : 
add  160,  after  181.— P.  184, 1.  10:  sounds,  for  vowel.— P.  186,  1. 1 :  became;  \A 
25  :  dry-as-dust;  1.  82  :  59,  for  60.— P.  187, 1. 16  ;  put  160,  164,  for  146.— P.  189 
1.  7  fr.  bot. :  to  search,  for  disguised.— P.  192, 1.  8 :  put  till  between  151  and 
156 ;  1.  27  :  put  a  ,  after  languages;  1.  5  fr.  bot. :  put  a  ,  after  stand.— P.  193, 
1.  27 :  a  ,  after  and. — P.  195,  1.  6  :  thatheth;  last  1.  of  the  text:  put  after  now:] 
G.  buclie,  beech  (hence  G.  buch,  book),  inst.  of:  buch,  book.— P.  196,  I.  6 : 
brother.— P.  197, 1.  14  :  receives ;  1.  24  :  Wall-street. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  science  of  language  is  currently  known  under  the  name  of 
Philology,  This  term  was  interpreted  in  antiquity  as  follows :  love  of 
speech — Plato  ;  love  of  speaking  on  philosophic  subjects — Socrates  ; 
love  of  books — Alexandrine  School,  where  the  study  of  ancient 
writers  began;  love  of  knowledge — Isocrates,  Aristotle,  (hence 
Eratosthenes  was  called  philologos  or  learned) ;  eruditio,  doctrina, 
hterarum  studium  and  cognitio — Romans. 

In  the  middle  ages  it  was  applied  to  the  study  of  Greek  and 
Latin  authors ;  or  to  the  knowledge  of  languages  and  of  all  archaeology 

— WOWER. 

In  modern  times,  Philology  was :  the  science  of  antiquity  and  of  all 
things  concerning  the  Greeks  and  Romans — Fr.  A.  Wolf  ;  the  know- 
ledge of  the  whole  activity  of  a  people  within  a  definite  time — ^Boeckh  ; 
the  construction,  history,  and  contemplation  of  the  works  of  art  and 
science — Schelling  ;  the  study  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  languages 
and  antiquities — Mathiae  ;  the  science  of  the  signification  of  words,  or 
the  manifestation  of  the  human  mind  by  language  and  writing — ^Muet- 
zell  ;  the  art  of  understanding  the  results  of  the  endeavors  to  teach 
and  to  educate  others — Milhausen  ;  the  history  of  mankind  and  the 
full  conception  of  ancient  spiritual  life — K.  O.  Mueller  ;  the  science  to 
follow  a  people,  or  a  stock  of  peoples,  in  their  all-sided  existence,  to 
the  very  basis  of  their  soul — Mayer  ;  the  research  into  the  languages 
of  cultivated  nations,  and  in  a  higher  view,  into  language,  as  such,  in 
order  to  recognize  from  its  essence  the  nature  of  our  intellectual 
powers — Conversations  Lexic.  der  Gegenwart  ;  the  sum  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans — Freese  ;  the  historico-critic 
2 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

study  of  language,  but  restncted  to  a  narrower  sphere  than  the  uni- 
versal science  of  language,  to  one  or  several  languages — Kirchner. 

To  this  array  of  attempted  definitions  might  be  added  those  of 
Jahn,  Haase,  Ihlefeld,  and  of  many  other  German  scholars;  and 
the  collection  might  be  swelled  with  those  of  English,  French,  etc., 
writers ;  but  the  synopsis  is  deemed  sufficient  to  show  the  wide  range 
and  importance  of  Philology ;  while  it  exhibits,  at  the  same  time,  the 
diversity  of  its  acceptations,  and  the  more  or  less  definite,  the  more  or 
less  correct  views  entertained  of  it  by  professional  men. 

For  these  reasons  it  is  advisable  to  name  the  present  essay  Glos- 
sology^ (yXoJcro-a,  tongue,  language ;  and  Xoyos,  speech,  reasoning,  com- 
ment, discoui-se)  confining  (with  W.  v.  Humboldt)  Philology  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  written  monuments  of  a  language.  Glossology 
or  Linguistic  J  has  for  its  object  the  analysis  of  the  structure  of  lan- 
guage in  general,  and  the  comparison  of  particular  languages  among 
themselves. 

The  word  Philology  will  however  be  used  before  this  treatise  en- 
ters upon  its  restricted  field  ;  because  it  occurs  in  many  of  the  pas- 
sages, which  will  be  referred  to  in  the  recommendation  of  its  useful- 
ness. 

Philology  has  been  variously  divided  into  general  and  special — as 
to  its  extent ;  into  classic — of  the  Greek  and  Latin  ;  oriental — He- 
brew, Arab,  Chinese,  etc. ;  biblic,  com2^arative — of  all  languages,  etc., 
without  any  regard  to  logic  pnnciples.  A  shoit  history  and  literature 
of  it  is  given  in  the  Appendix,  A. 

Is  there  a  science  of  language  ? — Those  who  think  language  to 
be  a  mere  arbitraiy  contrivance,  simply  a  matter  of  memoiy,  and 
only  a  tool  for  so-called  ^'' practicaV  ends,  deny  it.  Those,  on  the 
contrary,  who  five,  move,  and  are  in  Ilim  who — "  out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  suckhngs  has  ordained  strength ; — the  work  of  whose 
fingere  are  his  heavens  (Ps.  viii.  2,  3  ;  comp.  Ps.  xix.  1,  2) — whose 
"  all  works  are  done  in  truth"  (Ps.  xxxiii.  4) — "  who  covers  himself 
with  light  as  with  a  garment"  (Ps.  civ.  2-32) — think  it  a  blasphemy 
to  except  the  human  mind  and  its  ninnit'cstalioii  by  speech  from  the 
universal  harmony  of  the  world  (koct/xo?,  beauty,  comeliness,  order; 
mundus^  clean,  pure,  etc.).  Should  a  drop  of  water  be  subject  \o 
law,  but  human  language  not  ? 

From  this   want  of  perception, — not  to  speak  of  conviction,  of 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

divine  order  in  the  most  gifted  of  creatures,  have  flowed  and  are 
flowing  the  most  baneful  consequences  to  the  Hfe  of  humanity,  llie 
education  of  the  rising  generations,  instead  of  being  what  it  is  professed 
to  be,  is  hence  convei-ted  into  a  wholesale  poisoning  of  the  veiy  sources 
of  its  own  means.  So  deep  is  the  dullness,  engendered  and  fostered 
by  the  veiy  extension  and  inculcation  of  all  the  rubbish  of  schools 
into  the  innocent,  pure  souls  of  youth,  that  it  seems  vain  to  cry  out 
against  this  sin  of  our  brawling  civilization.  Were  this  not  so,  how 
would  the  admonitions  of  Milton,  Bacon,  both  Humboldts,  and  of  a 
galaxy  of  mental  worthies,  have  proved  to  be  but  a  voice  of  one  cry- 
ing in  the  wilderness  ?  Was  the  voice  of  Wm.  Cardell  (Essay  on 
Language,  etc.,  New-York,  1825)  of  any  use,  ye  stewards  of  educar 
tion  ?  Hei*e  it  is : — "  Much  of  what  is  received  as  the  exposition  of 
speech,  is  alike  opposed  to  fact,  science  and  common  sense;  for  under 
no  other  name  but  that  of  Grammar^  could  such  gross  inconsistencies 
be  admitted  and  pass  for  instruction  ....  A  nation  of  plain  men  could 
not  agree  in  the  adoption  of  a  form  of  speech,  the  rules  of  which 
should  resemble  the  artificial,  pei'plexing,  contradictory,  impracti- 
cable systems  of  schools.  They  may  be  unsuspectingly  led  to  great 
extravagance  by  commanding  authority  ....  Why  did  Egypt,  the  in- 
structress of  nations,  bow  to  dogs  and  bulls?  What  is  just,  is  not 
easily  made  entertaining,  nor  reconcilable  to  prejudices  acquired 
from  instruction." 

Bacon  says :  "  False  appearances  are  imposed  upon  us  by  ivords^ 
which  are  framed  and  applied  according  to  the  conceit  and  capacities 
of  the  vulgar  soi-t ;  and  although  we  think  we  govern  our  words  and 
presci'ibe  it  well,  "  Loquendum  ut  vulgus^  sentiendum  ut  sapientes^'^ 
yet  certainly  do  words,  as  Tartar-bows,  shoot  back  upon  the  under- 
standing of  the  wisest,  and  entangle  and  pervert  their  judgment  So, 
that  it  is  necessary  in  controversies  to  imitate  the  wisdom  of  the  mathe- 
matics, in  setting  down  in   the  very  beginning,  the  definitions  of  our 

words For  we  are  sure  to  end  where  we  ought  to  have  begun,  in 

questions  about  words." 

It  would  be  a  desecration  of  what  is  holiest  (truth,  justice,  and 
taste),  to  hope  a  better  fate  at  the  hands  (rather  minds)  of  the  whole 
obdurate  tribe  of  such,  as  live  in  the  mephitic  mental  atmosphere  pro- 
duced by  scholastic  prejudices  and  self-sufficiency  ;  for  whom  the  laws 
of  God  in  human  speech,  and  the  prophets  of  reason  and  beauty  in 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

the  realms  of  philosophy  (from  Plato  to  Wm.  Humboldt),  have  been 
bhnd,  dumb  and  tasteless. 

"  For  him  who's  done,  natif^ht  can  more  be  done  : 
But  a  beginner  will  ever  thankful  be." 

Goethe. 

To  You  "  who  dare  to  be  wise ;"  to  You  on  whose  mind  there  re- 
mains a  spot  undyed  by  the  manufacturing  process  of  common  schools ; 
to  You  whose  intellect  has  not  been  blunted,  besquinted,  tattooed  by 
the  cacoethes  of  the  miscalled  English  spelling,  and  anomalous  in- 
struction ;  to  You  who  wish  to  obey  the  gi'eat  Doric  precept :  "  Know 
thyself ^^^ — Chilon  (engraved  on  the  temple  of  Apollo's  oracle) ;  to 
You  who  wish  to  undei-stand  the  :  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word, 
and  the  Word  w^as  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God,  In  him  was 
hfe,  and  the  life  was  the  hght  of  men,  And  the  light  shineth  in  dark- 
ness; and  the  darkness  comprehended  it  not — St.  John  i.  1,  4,  5  ;  to 
All  tliose  who  are  foes  of  darkness, — is  the  present  attempt  to  render 
the  learning  of  languages  a  natural,  healthy,  pleasant  task,  dedicated. 
This  is  done  with  becoming  difhdence,  not  in  the  solubility  of  the  pro- 
blem, but  in  the  own  weakness  of  the  writer. 

Every  intelligent  child, — and  all  are  so  unless  blighted  with  a 
bodily  abnormity,  or  ruined  by  wanton  treatment, — feels  the  livehest 
interest  in  all  objects  of  nature  and  art,  that  come  under  its  obser^'a- 
tion.  While  most  impressible,  with  a  blank  mind,  full  of  curiosity 
and  retaining  in  a  faithful  memory  all  that  it  perceives,  the  poor  crea- 
ture is  sent  to  the  shambles  of  the  mind,  called  schools,  where  it  is 
most  carefully  imbued  with  all  elements  of  false  views  and  of  bad 
taste.  Instead  of  receiving  an  instruction  suited  to  its  physical,  men- 
tal, moral,  and  esthetic  faculties,  his  body  is  put  to  the  bench  to  be 
tortured,  his  mind  is  shocked  and  deadened  with  incoherent  absurdi- 
ties, his  taste  is  polluted  by  ungraceful  sights,  sounds,  etc.  What 
must  then  become  of  the  hopeful  image  of  God?  A  podnnlic,  big- 
oted, canting,  timid,  hypocritic,  spelling,  pai-sing,  ciphering,  siimilachro 
of  man,  either  a  ^^ good  suhjecC  of  an  autocrat,  or  a  ^'rnom//  innk-'oKf* 
citizen  of  a  republic. 

A  lady  speaks  thus  on  this  to]>ic.  "Tlio  stark  and  scn.-cl.-s  n^w 
of  lettei-s  thrust  upon  the  child,  a.^  m^oh  as  it  cubTs  ilif  >r!n>ML  can 
afford  no  plejisuro  whatever.     They  excite    no   id«a,  tlu  y  awak*  ii    no 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

recollection  of  any  pleasing  object  ever  before  seen,  and  give  no  prom- 
ise of  any  delight  ever  afterwards  to  be  conferred.  They  are  neither 
beauty  to  the  eyes,  nor  music  to  the  ears,  nor  sense  to  the  under- 
standing. Teaching  the  alphabet  first^  therefore,  and  in  the  common 
way^  only  disqualifies  the  child  for  the  correct  pronunciation  of  the 
great  proportion  of  the  words  of  our  language ;  and  the  more  per- 
fectly the  alphabet  is  learned,  the  more  is  the  child  disqualified  for 
the  next  step  in  liis  progi*ess.  The  more  readily  the  sound  of  every 
letter  rises  to  a  child's  mind,  when  looking  at  it  in  a  word,  the  more 
will  he  be  disposed  to  pronounce  it  the  way  that  custom  calls  wrong, 
the  more  flatly,  to  his  mind,  will  the  teacher  contradict  what  he  had 
taught  him  before.  When  the  words  are  analyzed  into  their  ele- 
mentary sounds,  they  utterly  disown  and  belie  the  sounds  which  chil- 
dren were  taught  to  give  to  the  same  letters  in  the  alphabet.  According 
to  the  ordinary  method,  therefore,  as  soon  as  a  child  passes  from 
lettei"s  to  words,  he  is  required  to  give  n£w  sounds  to  the  old  lettere ; 
and  if  he  remembere  the  names  of  the  old  letters  and  reproduces 
them,  he  is  corrected.  This  renders  learning  not  only  difficulty  but 
disgusting.  It  alienates  the  child  from  study,  instead  of  attracting 
him  to  it.  It  makes  play  more  delightful  than  books,  because  play  is 
conversant  with  real  things^  while  books  when  used  in  such  a  way, 
are  lifeless  and  repulsive.  They  are  not  mere  impediments  to  progress 
but  causes  of  bad  mental  habitsP  Mi's.  Hor.  Mann's  Primer,  Bos- 
ton, 1851. 

Not  hecatombs,  but  millions  of  English  children  fall  holocausts 
to  the  idol  of  falsehood,  enthroned  on  the  teacher's  desk.  Thousands 
of  scholastic  cai-s  of  Jaggernaut  are  crushing  the  young  germs  of  truth, 
morality,  and  good  taste,  through  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of 
the  republican  as  well  as  the  royal  empire  of  the  English  and  asso- 
ciated nations.  That  there  is  not  much  hope  of  a  speedy  relentment 
in  this  slaughter  of  the  innocents,  on  the  part  of  their  educational 
guardians,  may  be  gathered  from  the  spirit  and  character  of  "  The 
English  Spelling-boohJ''  published  by  the  American  Society  /or  the 
Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge^  New- York,  1850.  As  for  the  stereo- 
typed flourishes  about  progress,  there  we  find  a  goodly  display :  but 
as  regards  real,  bona  fide,  organic  and  fertile  amendments  of  the 
former  ways  of  teaching  the  elements  of  knowledge, — there  are  none 
whatever  to  bo  found.     Another  voucher  for  Eccles.  i.  9. 


1*4  INTRODUCTION. 

We  read  there :  "  After  a  year  of  careful  investigation,  this  com- 
inittee  presented  a  report,  containing  a  list  of  110  different  spelling- 
hooks  published  in  this  country  since  1804  ....  These  investigations  led 
to  interesting  and  unexpected  discussions  and  results.  The  immense 
circulation  of  these  books ;  their  influence  upon  the  mind  and  charaxi' 
ter^  in  the  incipient  stages  of  mental  development ;  and  their  power  to 
give  the  earliest,  the  most  valuable,  and  the  most  lasting  impressions, 
in  respect  to  the  nature  and  use  of  our  language^  have  been  often 
and  carefully  considered.  The  Spelling-book  has  long  been  regarded 
in  England,  Scotland,  and  the  United  States,  as  an  almost  indispensa- 
ble introduction  to  a  knowledge  of  our  language.  So  extensively  has 
this  sentiment  prevailed,  that  the  history  of  spelling-books  embodies  no 
■unimportant  part  of  the  history  of  education  ....  they  show  the  pro- 
gress which  has  been  made  in  the  application  of  philosophical  prin- 
ciples in  systems  of  instruction  ....  One  book  in  England  has  passed 
through  more  than  450  editions!  The  Spelling-book  is  one  of  the 
most  eftective  instruments,  in  developing  and  moulding  the  youthful 
mindr  The  great  importance  of  such  books  can  certainly  not  be 
sufficiently  extolled !  Yet  a  very  powerful  mental  microscope  would 
be  sorely  puzzled  to  find  in  this  result  of  so  much  care  that  thing 
which  is  commonly  called  progress  ;  and  though  it  sounds  very  credi- 
ble that  (page  v)  "  the  child  may  not  derive  either  pleasure  or  profit 
from  the  study,  while  he  is  in  the  Spelling-book,"  it  invites  to  incredu- 
lity to  read  :  "yet  he  ^  will,  in  all  his  future  studies  find  great  and  per- 
manent advantages  resulting  from  this  early  instruction  in  the  ele- 
ments of  language^ 

With  the  hand  on  the  heart,  and  the  mind  on  St.  Mark  x.  14; 
and  St.  Matt.  vii.  9,  1 0,  it  can  be  asked  :  Is  a  stone  bread  ?  is  a  ser- 
pent a  fish  ? — or,  in  the  present  case.  Is  no  visible  genuine  improve- 
ment, progress  ?  Is  the  utter  want  of  feeling,  which  pervades  our 
community,  as  regards  a  full  appreciation  of  what  language  is,  worth 
the  name  of  great  and  permanent  advantages  ?  Is  mere  industry  in 
book-making  a  proof  of  philosophical  principles  ?  Does  the  spirit  of 
all  that  great  mass  of  books  for  children  show  that  their  writers  even 
understand  what  elements  of  language  means  ? 

With  the  view  of  putting  this  matter  of  the  study  of  language, 
not  of  languages,  or  of  so-called  "  classical  languages,"  but  especially 
of  the  English, — ^into  still  more  light,  let  us  recapitulate  the  substance 


INTRODUCTION.  U 

of  the  remarks  made  by  a  highly  competent  writer,  in  the  North 
Amei-ican  Review,  January,  1849,  Art.  vi.     "  We  hear  much  of  the 
study  of  languages,  but  very  little  on  the  study  of  language.     This 
most  important  and  interesting  branch  of  knowledge  has  not,  up  to 
this  time,  even  been  numbered  among  the  natural  sciences.    It  seems 
as  if  the  contentment  with  which  we  endure  this  ignorance,  were  an 
effect  of  a  divine  interdict ;  or,  as  if  we  were  actuated  by  the  senti- 
ment akin  to  that  of  the  pious  member  of  Parliament,  who  opposed 
the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  for  fear  of  defeating  the  designs  of  Provi- 
dence ;  and  as  if  we  were  bound  to  leave  languages  in  that  confusion  in 
which  the  presumption  of  the  heaven-scaling  architects  involved  them. 
On  this  subject  the  public  mind  is  in  a  state  of  apathy,  regarding  the 
living  science  of  language  fts  a  mere  dead  matter  of  books,  a  pro- 
vince of  the  pedant  and  the  recluse,  wholly  unconnected   with  the 
laboi-s  and  pleasures  of  every-day  man.     At  the  same  time,  with  a 
singular  inconsistency,  a  degree  of  supei-stitious  respect  is  paid  to 
men  supposed  to  possess  great  acquirements  of  this  sort :  as  if  the 
wearisome  and  thankless  pui*suit  conferred  a  merit  upon  those  who 
have  devoted  themselves  to  the  penance.     While  thorough  attain- 
ments in  the  field  of  language  are  deemed  superfluous,  fashion  and  a 
certain  traditionary  prestige  confer  a  vague  value  on  slender  acquire- 
ments of  this  kind.   Many  most  important  years  are  spent  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  a  few  varieties  of  speech,  in  order  to  comply  with  custom ; 
or,  if  a  worthier  motive  sway  us,  and  we  seek  keys  to  the  stores  of 
ancient  learning  or  to  cotemporary  genius,  we  regard  the  toil  be- 
stowed on  their  acquisition  but  as  the  price  for  the  desired  good.     It 
does  not  occur  to  us,  that  if  followed  in  another  spirit  and  under  dif- 
ferent auspices,  the  pursuit  itself  would,  at  every  step,  yield  a  vivid 
pleasure,  and  lead  us  into  one  of  the  noblest  fields  of  science.     We 
continue  to  walk  bhndly  through  the  planless  maze,  with  no  better 
assistance  than  some  unreasoning  trick  of  memory,  or  with  such  small 
remains  of  our  instinctive  perception  of  truth,  as  a  false  education  has 
left  us.     It  does  not  occur  to  us,  that  language  also  must  have  its 
fundamental  principles,  and  that  these  eternal  laws  must  be,  as  in 
eveiy  other  science,  simple,  easy  of  comprehension,  when  once  dis- 
closed, and  universal  in  their  application.     Our  mind  is  so  impressed 
with  the  consciousness  of  design  and  order  reigning  through  the  uni- 
verse, that  it  asks  of  all,  even  the  most  mysterious  phenomena  of  na- 


\ 

16  INTRODUCTION. 

ture,  the  causes  and  laws  of  their  existence  :  yet  we  are  content  to 
believe  that  human  speech  has  sprung  up  and  unfolded  itself  by 
chance,  or  that  it  is  the  capricious  work  of  man  alone,  undirected  by 
the  great  ordering  Mind,  etc. 

Had  the  Committee  of  the  American  Society  for  the  DifFasion  of 
Useful  Knowledge,  carefully  investigated  the  subject  entrusted  to  them, 
they  would  have  found  ample  matter  in  the  article  just  spoken  of 
(which  was  certainly  accessible  to  them)  to  offer  as  "  unexpected  re- 
sults''' for  the  improvement  of  the  rising  generation. 

If  it  be  asked  why  so  much  is  said  about  Spelling-books,  and 
why  strong  language  is  used  concerning  the  compilers  of  them,  the 
answer  must  be  their  own  admission  of  the  great  influence  of  ele- 
mentary instruction  on  the  mental  and  moral  character  of  children. 
This  admission  grants,  nay,  challenges  full  liberty  to  inquire  into 
two  things,  viz.:  1.  whether  the  performance  of  the  duty  to  furnish 
materials  and  to  prescribe  methods  of  teaching,  be  equal  in  quantity 
as  well  as  in  quality,  to  the  sacredness  of  that  duty,  or  not  ?  2.  into 
the  effects  of  the  so-called  systems  and  methods  of  instruction,  pre- 
vaihng  in  the  enormous  empires  of  the  United  States  and  of  Great 
Britain.  "  Ye  shall  know  them  by  their  fruits,  Do  men  gather  grapes 
of  thorns,  or  figs  of  thistles  ?"  etc.,  St.  Matt.  vii.  16-20. 

Fashionable  awe,  conventional  apathy,  scholastic  pusillanimity, 
courtier-like  flattering  for  popularity,  the  failures  of  many  attempts  to 
reform  prescriptive  pi-ejudices  and  abuses,  propped  up  by  the  hosts  of 
all  those  into  whom  they  have  been  and  are  inculcated  under  the 
guise  of  improvements, — all  these  hobgoblins  may  frighten  a  man 
from  his  purpose  of  telling  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing 
but  the  truth.  But  the  hopeful  reliance  on  the  power  of  truth, 
which  must  ultimately  prevail,  together  with  the  deep  conviction  of 
the  incalculable  advantages  not  only  to  men-machines  who  use  lan- 
guage little  better  than  animals,  prone  to  earth,  do  their  voices,  but 
chiefly  to  all  such  as  wish  to  employ  language  for  its  divine  ends, — 
as  a  pole,  so  to  say,  whereon  the  tendrils  of  clear  reason,  of  be- 
nign humanity  and  of  chaste  taste  climb  up,  in  the  direction  of 
man's  posture,  towards  the  Source  of  light ; — that  hope  and  convic- 
tion embolden  the  writer  of  this  essay  to  tell  as  much  as  he  knows 
on  the  nature  of  language,  and  on  the  paramount  importance  of  an 
organic  study  of  the  English  especially. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

Reserving  further  proofs  of  the  many  anomalies  practised  in  teach- 
ing the  vernacular,  the  so-called  classical  and  the  fashionable  lan- 
guages, as  well  as  other  so-called  branches  of  education,  for  the 
proper  places  in  the  course  of  this  treatise ;  the  writer  calls  attention 
to  the  following  points  which  embrace  the  spint,  tendency,  and  hoped 
for  results  of  his  endeavors  to  be  useful  to  his  fellow-citizens  by 
adoption. 

1.  The  nations  speaking  English  have  the  mission  to  be  the  pio- 
neers and  bearers  of  human  culture  in  all  its  forms.  Their  choice 
position  on  this  earth;  their  energies  and  success  both  in  peaceful 
and  warlike  pui-suits;  their  political  institutions,  their  number  and 
riches,  render  them  more  capable  of  fulfilling  that  divine  appointment, 
than  the  Greeks,  Romans  of  old,  or  any  now  living  people.  These 
extraordinary  advantages  impose  upon  them  corresponding  duties, 
the  chief  of  which  is  to  benefit  their  less  favored  fellow-nations  by 
deeds  most  benefiting  themselves. 

2.  The  English  language,  that  Mississippi  among  the  human 
tongues,  confluent  of  a  Teutic  branch  with  the  Latin  Missouri,  which 
are  symbols  of  the  aggrandizement  of  the  English  people  by* tribu- 
tary streams  and  brooks  of  other  tongued  nations,  is  the  vehicle  of  that 
great  mission :  this  Europeo- American  language,  par  excellence,  being 
more  fit  to  be  the  tool  of  humanization  all  over  this  globe,  than  any 
other  tongue.  It  is  not  only  akin  and  connected  with  the  other  lan- 
guages of  the  best  nations,  but  also  more  apt  to  be  that  providential 
instrument  by  such  excellent  intrinsic  qualities,  as  are  not  even  dreamt 
of  by  the  mass  of  its  professors  in  their  philosophy. 

3.  As  if  to  furnish  new  inductive  proofs  to  the  truth  of  the  saying 
that  "  corruptio  optimi  pessima,"  the  spelling-nui'ses  as  well  as  the  pea- 
cocks of  colleges  (who  display  rather  the  eyed  tail  of  their  lore 
than  the  brain  functions  of  the  English  Minerva)  have  so  ill-treated 
and  are  continually  ill-treating  their  vernacular  tongue,  that  it  ad- 
mits of  demonstration  that  none  can  be  compared  with  the  English 
as  to  bad  luck  in  this  respect.  Since  Joa.  Wallis  {Gram.  LingucB 
Anglicoe^  Oxon.,  1653),  none  of  the  English  writers  on  Enghsh  is 
"  worthy  to  unloose  his  shoe's  latchet,"  if  we  take  into  account  the 
flood  of  light  that  has  been  poured  on  the  subject  of  language  since 
his  time. 

4.  The  Latin  and  German,  parents  of  the  English  language,  in- 

2* 


18  INTRODtTCTlON. 

stead  of  being  properly  (the  former)  and  deservedly  (the  latter)  cul- 
tivated, are,  in  consequence  of  the  slovenliness  of  the  English  profes- 
soi-s,  a  bugbear  to  the  mass  of  the  would-be  students,  so  much  so 
that  the  German  letters,  though  they  had  once  been  used  in  English 
(i.  e.  the  black  letters)  and  though  they  be  not  exclusively  German, 
are  sufficient  of  themselves  to  deter  many  persons  from  attempting 
the  language  itself.  The  Latin,  instead  of  being  made,  together  with 
the  Greek,  a  living  link  of  our  culture  with  the  ancient;  instead  of 
being  employed  as  a  cynosure,  as  a  regulator  of  modem  languages, 
as  far  as  its  nature  legitimately  admits  of  its  being  so  ;  is  recorrupted 
by  those  very  corruptions  with  which  it  had  tainted  the  Latin  portion 
of  English.  No  wonder  that  it  is  a  "  dead  language'''  to  those  dead 
minds  which  strangle  it  every  day  and  every  where  on  one-fourth  of 
the  inhabited  earth.  As  for  the  German,  it  seems  only  to  furnish  a 
staple  for  the  literary  phrases  :  "  languages  of  the  Gothic  stock,"  "  Ger- 
man scholars,"  etc.,  and  for  boasting  about  Anglo-Saxons^  whenever 
other  nations  are  to  be  vilipended.  Pray,  how  do  we  stand  as  to 
Anglo-Sax  on  ism  ?  Which  of  the  many  uni  verities  (say  UNIVER- 
SITlfiS)  in  this  fair  land  converts  its  attention  to  this  unique  language 
of  the  patriarchs  of  England  ?  Thomas  Jefferson  made  it  incumbent 
on  the  professor  of  modern  languages  at  the  Univej-sity  of  Virginia, 
to  teach  that  maiTowy  idiom  :  but  he  ought  to  have  done  like  Ali 
pasha  of  Egypt  and  other  civilizers,  who  compelled  attendance  on  the 
lessons  prescribed,  if  ^  he  wished  to  create  respect  for  the  noble  an- 
cestry of  ^he  present  English. 

5.  In  consequence  of  what  has  been  said,  and  in  consideration  of 
the  admirable  logic  and  phonetic  plasticity  of  the  English  language 
(which  will  be  rendered  manifest  below),  it  becomes  a  sacred  duty,  if 
we  look  at  the  future  development  of  humanity,  to  make  a  complete 
radical  reform  in  the  system  and  method  of  teaching  the  young,  in 
general,  and  of  treating  the  study  of  the  vernacular  in  a  manner  con- 
genial to  its  nature  as  well  as  parallel  to  its  grand  mission.  Were  it 
not  too  shocking,  one  of  the  laboi-s  of  Hercules  might  be  imitated  by 
leading  a  sort  of  Croton-aqueduct  through  the  murky,  crooked,  and 
encumbered  alleys  and  galleries  of  the  prevailing  systems  of  in- 
struction. But  is  such  a  wish  not  forbidden  by  the  ignorance  of  the 
hybrid  monster  sprung  from  fashion  and  pedantry  ?  How  to  hope 
when  we  see  millions  of  dollare  spent  on  the  Girard-palace  in  Phila- 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

delphia  with  scarcely  another  genuine  benefit  than  that  the  orphans 
tliere  taught  may  sing  :  "I  dreamt  I  learnt  in  marble  halls.''  But  how^ 
and  what  ? — The  reader  may  continue  to  enlarge  on  this  topic,  if  his 
own  faculties  have  not  been  stunted  by  the  raja  torpedo  of  the 
schools. 

6.  It  is  less  than  useless,  it  is  a  positive  degradation  of  mind,  to 
wish  and  to  hope  to  make  a  wholesome  improvement,  without  up- 
rooting the  upas  in  the  paradise  of  instruction,  misnamed  SPELLING* 
Unless  the  "flesh-pots"  (Exod.  xvi.  3)  on  which  the  children,  that  are 
kept  in  a  more  than  Egyptian  captivity  of  mind,  are  being  fed,  be 
consigned  to  Lethe,  to  utter  forgetiulness,  there  is  no  hope  whatever 
of  their  ever  entering  the  land  of  promise,  flowing  with  the  milk  and 
honey  of  graceful  humanities  and  of  sympathetic  humanity.  For,  if 
we  spurn  the  law^s  of  God,  we  cannot  be  exempted  from  their  just 
consequences.  We  must  praise  him  not  by  what  we  conceive  to  be 
true,  but  by  trying  to  find  what  IS  true.  Voluminous  works  on  lan- 
guage cannot  lead  us  in  this  reform  :  for  they  only  add  waters  to  wa- 
ters, without  furnishing  a  magnetic  needle,  or  the  means  to  find  our 
longitude  and  latitude  on  the  ocean  of  tongues. 

7.  By  starting  aright  with  the  elements  of  the  English  language, 
we  are  enabled  to  acquire  the  material  of  the  principal  tongues  of 
Europe ;  we  become  pervaded  by  the  harmony  found  in  the  relation 
of  the  ideas  and  objects  around  us,  as  uttered  by  articulate  speech ; 
and  thus  encouraged,  we  can  cheerfully  proceed  on  the  path  of  further 
progress.  Those  knots  and  meshes,  which  cannot  be  disentangled  by 
the  present  mode  of  learning,  yield  to  the  dissolving  power  of  the 
organic  energy  contained  in  language.  Not  only  the  dialects  and 
metamorphoses  of  the  English,  but  the  totality  of  the  Teutic  and 
Romanic  dialects  can  be  overlooked  from  the  lofty,  unclouded  position, 
to  which  we  are  raised  in  that  way ;  and  we  gain  courage  to  wander 
through  that  which  had  seemed  to  us  to  be  an  impenetrable  forest. 
While  those  who  are  hurrying  heedlessly  through  the  labyrinth  with- 
out an  Ariadne's  thread,  are  sliding  hither  and  thither,  and  backwards, 
quite  bewildered,  hopeless :  the  student  who  begins  and  proceeds, 
trusting  in  the  natural  order  and  laws  of  all  existing  things,  works 
not  at  random  but  according  to  those  laws  ;  and  he  cannot  fail  reaping 
the  golden  fruit  of  his  labors.     Time,  labor  and  money  can  be  saved. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

and  yet  more  advantage  gained  by  exchanging  the  customary  man 
ner  of  study  for  the  one  which  will  be  recora mended. 

8.  The  especial  points  intended  to  be  made  out  are  as  follows : 

a)  The  harmony  between  the  external  world  (macrocosm)  and  the 
world  within  us  (microcosm) ;  or  more  explicitly:  between  the  objects 
that  surround  us  and  impress  themselves  through  our  senses  on  our 
mind,  and  the  expression  or  utterance  we  give  to  those  impressions  by 
the  activity  of  our  organs  of  speech ;  and  further,  even  the  agree- 
ment between  the  sounds  of  speech  and  the  characters  by  which  we 
represent  them  to  the  eye  or  touch  in  writing. 

b)  The  original  unity,  and  subsequent  diversity  of  speech. 

c)  The  primitive,  c^?i^r«Z  signification  of  the  elementary  sounds,  and 
their  secondary,  tertiary,  a.  s.  o.,  peripheric  meanings. 

d)  The  lexic,  as  necessary,  and  the  grammatic  as  well  as  euphonic^  as 
accessory,  material  of  language. 

e)  The  vital  connexion  between  the  ^qyqtqX  families  of  languages,  but 
especially  of  those  of  the  Indo-European  family  [See  Appendix  B], 

/)  The  modifications  (normal  as  well  as  abnormal)  of  the  sounds  and 
letters,  both  taken  singly  and  in  connexion  with  each  other. 

g)  The  restoration  of  the  ancient  Latin  pronunciation. 

h)  The  practic  results  of  these  inquiries  on  the  method  of  teaching 
languages. 

9.  The  last  and  highest  result  of  a  genuine  system,  and  of  the  pro- 
posed reform,  is  an  approximation  of  the  various  races  and  nations  to 
that  union  into  one  mankind ,  which  is  admitted  to  have  existed,  by  all 
earnest  inquirers  into  language,  and  which  is  attested  by  Gen.  xi.  1, 
"  And  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language,  and  of  one  speech."  For, 
the  chief  reason  of  the  division  of  men,  into  families  and  nations,  was 
produced  "  after  their  tongues"  (Gen.  x.  5,  20,  31),  which  division  itself 
was  owing  to  their  various  piimitive  circumstances.  Although  "the 
language  of  all  the  earth  was  confounded''^  (Ibid.  xi.  9)  at  Babel  (i.  e. 
confusion ;  compare :  to  babble,  use  lips ;  blab,  Lat.  fabula,  balbus  ; 
Germ,  plappern,  plaudem,  etc. :  though  others  derive  the  word  fi'om  the 
Arab,  bdb,  gate,  i.  e.,  hall  of  Belus),  the  geims  of  one  common  speech 
are  found  scattered  in  all  the  different  languages  and  dialects ;  so  that 
one  completes  and  illustrates  all  othei-s  reciprocally,  and  that  one  single 
language  cannot  be  fully  known  by  itself. 


CHAPTER    I. 


LANGUAGE. 


"  Ignorance  of  the  signification  of  words,  which  is  a  want  of  understanding,  disposeth 
men  to  take  on  trust,  not  only  the  truth  they  know  not,  but  the  errors, — and  which  is  more, 
the  nonsense  of  them  they  trust ;  for  neither  error  nor  sense  can,  without  a  perfect  under- 
standing of  words,  be  detected."— Hobbes'  Leviathan,  Chap.  II. 

Language  is  but  another  form  of  the  Lat.  LinGua,  obsol.  dingua^ 
tongue.  Now,  as  the  tongue  is  the  principal  tool  by  which  man  ex- 
presses his  thoughts  and  feelings,  and  as  this  tool  proclaims  itself  by 
the  sounds  made  both  at  its  root  and  tip,  with  which  it  taps  the  up- 
;per  front-teeth ;  there  can  be  no  more  appropriate  name  for  itself  than 
the  sounds  of  this  its  own  function.  rAwTra  expresses  the  same 
gests  or  acts  of  itself,  in  a  natural  order,  and  it  signifies,  in  the  form 
of  glos^  sound,  in  the  Slavic  languages.  Both  words  are  akin  to  all 
those  other  words, — are  rather  modifications  of  the  varieties  of  the 
same  word, — that  denote  all  the  functions  or  performances  of  the 
tongue  (See  the  chapters  on  Sounds  and  Roots).  Speech^  Gei-man 
Sprache^  is  less  directly  significant,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not  manifest 
the  innermost  connexion  of  language  with  the  Aoyo9,  reason,  cause, 
etc.  It  is  bodily  identic  with  Lat.  spargere^  to  spread,  scatter ;  being 
composed  of  the  separative  5,  of  the  pierm\g  per  and  of  the  root  of 
ago^  akin  to  the  English  go  ;  so  that  it  signifies  spreading  out  that 
which  is  in  our  mind.  This  word  is  related  to  Lat.  sermo  (origin, 
ser-moii-)  i.  e.,  sero  and  mens,  sow  out  mind.  Germ.  JRede  coincides 
radically  with  Lat.  ratio,  Greek  prjTopcKrj  from  pew,  fluo.  All  that 
concerns  the  appellations  of  language  by  words  of  various  origin, 
will  become  plain  in  the  sequel.     Our  subject,  indeed,  is  so  dove-tail- 


22  LANGUAGE. 

e"d,.so  to  say,  |;hat^it;ifj:  very  hard  to  present  it  in  so  clear  a  way  in  a 
consectiti^'«j(il«vd6pnient,  as  to  satisfy  those  who  have  never  seriously 
thought  that  language  is  a  living  organism.  Repetitions,  recapitula- 
tions can  therefore  scarcely  be  avoided. 

W.  V.  Humboldt  gives  several,  more  or  less  restricted,  definitions 
of  language,  the  genetic  being  this  :  "  Language  is  the  ever  recurring 
labor  of  the  mind,  to  make  the  articulate  sound  an  expression  of 
thought.''^  Ueber  die  Kawi  Sprache,  S.  Ivii.  Elsewhere :  "  Lan- 
guage is  the  striving  of  the  power  of  speech  to  break  forth,  according 
to  the  mental  cast  of  a  peopled  S.  xxv.  He  characterizes  it  as  the 
centre  of  all  the  individualities  of  humanity,  of  nations  and  persons. 

Notwithstanding  the  high  authority  just  quoted,  language  might 
be  more  comprehensively  defined  as  the  manifestation  of  our  internal 
state  by  articulate  sounds,  i.  e.  not  restricting  it  to  the  manifestation 
of  thought,  but  extending  it  to  that  of  feeling  also.  For,  if  we  regard 
the  expression  of  the  internal  state  of  animals  by  their  sounds,  and 
our  own  involuntary,  unintentional  manifestations  of  external  percep- 
tions and  of  internal  feelings, — which  certainly  are  the  germs  and 
basis  of  our  conceptions,  ideas  and  thoughts, — we  cannot  fail  perceiving 
that  Humboldt's  definition  is  too  narrow. 

Our  internal  state  may  also  be  manifested  in  other  ways  than  by 
articulate  sounds,  for  instance,  by  music,  by  various  gestures,  and  by 
other  contrivances.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned,  pantomimics, 
the  language  of  flowers,  all  kinds  of  telegraphs,  symbolic  images,  a.  s. 
f.  But  all  these  modes  of  conveying  to  others  what  is  within  us,  are 
very  impeifect  and  dim,  when  compared  Avith  the  wonderful  gift  of 
human  speech,  whose  "  each  word  is  a  piece  of  the  soul, — Nizami. 

As  each  individual  word,  in  its  original  acceptation,  coincides  with 
the  idea  or  feeling  which  gave  it  birth,  and  as  the  ideas  of  individual 
men  vary  according  to  the  cast  of  their  mind  and  sensibility  :  various 
words  are  used  to  express  the  veiy  energies  or  faculties  of  the  human 
mind  as  well  as  its  operations  or  functions.  No  word  is  precisely 
synonymous,  i.  e.  cosignificant  with  any  other.  Hence,  at  the  very 
outset  of  our  inquiry  we  are  beset  by  a  multitude  of  expressions  used 
by  various  individuals,  in  treating  of  the  powers  and  actions  of  the 
mind.  Some  examples  will  show  this.  Let  us  begin  with  English 
words : — percepWow  originally  signifies  (the  action  of  to)  pierce  and  keep; 
sensixUoii — touch,  put  to  ;  feelmg — fall,  flow,  fleet ;  understanding — 


LANGUAGE.       ^  23 

Rtand  amidst  (not  under,  below ;  comp.  Lat.  t^ 
reason  (ratio — re-  or,  ra-tus) — run,  flow.  As  the^^ji|p|t5BBi^fe 
either  Latin  or  German,  let  us  look  at  some  of  both  languages:  L,  ju- 
dicium— good  and  token ;  cogitatio^ — bring,  go  and  act  together ; 
mens — mind,  measure,  meet;  meditatio — measure  repeatedly.  Thus 
in  Germ.  Empfin^wwg^ — in  find;  Fors/^Zlung, — before  stand;  Be- 
griff^ — he  gripe,  grasp  ;  Verstand, — for  stand,  stall ;  Vernuaft, — 
for  name,  originally  gnome  ;  Urtheil^ — ordeal,  order  and  deal ;  Oe- 
danke^ — getoken,  think  ;  Anschauung^ — on  show  or  see  ;  Hollandish 
JDenkheeld^ — think  and  build  or  shape  ;  Greek  €t8ca  tSca, — video, 
idem,  i.  e.  coincide  with  the  original  type  ;  hence  image,  form,  idol, 
proper ;  voos, — know,  ken  ;  /i-cXeV');, — fxeTpio)^  meteor,  measure,  meet, 
mould  ;  KpLo-i<s, — cerno,  discrete,  i.  e.  separate  by  sight ;  A.dyos, — lay, 
link,  loquor  (see  Lingua  and  Glotta,  above) ;  Sd^a, — token,  doceo, 
teach,  touch,  think  ;  al'o-^Tyort?, — sense,  stead  ;  a.  s.  f.  The  secondary, 
usual  significations  of  these  words  can  be  looked  for  in  the  vocabula- 
ries. Their  pnmitive  etyma  (imprints,  tyjx?s)  alone, — as  they  have 
been  coined  in  the  mint  of  the  mind  of  their  framers, — are  here  given 
with  the  intention  of  showing  that  they  oiiginate  with  the  perceptions 
of  the  external  world  of  matter.  Material  impressions  are  imported 
into  the  common  sensorium  or  organ  of  the  mind,  by  the  agency  of 
the  organs  of  external  sense  (the  skin,  eyes,  ears,  nose,  palate),  and  re- 
ported by  the  feelings  of  our  internal  sense  (or  the  coenesthesis,  com- 
mon feeling  of  our  bodily  condition,  i.  e.  of  health  or  sickness,  of 
vigor  or  weakness,  of  hunger,  thii*st,  cold,  a.  s.  o.),  in  order  to  be 
wrought  into  Denkbeelden,  i.  e.  images  of  thought :  the  ultimate  aim 
being  that  of  exportation,  in  the  shape  of  words. 

Language,  in  its  totality  as  well  as  every  sound  or  aerial  fibre  of  it, 
is  a  symbol,  a  paradigm,  an  index,  a  finger-board,  pointing  in  one  di- 
rection to  what  is  brought  and  how  it  is  brought  within  us  :  in  another 
direction,  to  what  is  uttered  and  how  it  is  to  strike  the  mind  of  our 
fellow-men.  Man  is  a  mirror  of,  but  also  a  mediator  between,  all  ob- 
jects felt  without  and  within  himself,  as  well  as  between  these  objects 
and  his  own  spirit  on  one  side,  and  between  his  spirit  and  that  of  his 
neighbors  on  the  other.  As  he  digests  and  assimilates  food  and 
drink  in  his  apparatus  of  digestion  and  nutrition,  the  atmospheric  air 
in  his  organs  of  respiration  :  so  he  treats  also  the  matenal  swallowed 
and  inspired  by  the  organs  of  his  senses.     To  be  able  to  do  this 


24  LANGUAGE. 

aright,  he  must  jp  all  his  parts  and  qualities  and  circumstances  be 
adapted 'to ^suct^a  performance.  It  would  certainly  be  a  matter  of 
wonderment,  nay,  of  horror,  if  the  Almighty  architect  of  the  Universe 
had  not  tuned  him  to  be  in  concordance  with  the  celestial  spheres,  and 
with  the  atoms  of  matter,  and  with  all  spiritual  energies,  and  with  all 
relations  of  all  things  to  each  other. 

Language,  therefore,  cannot  but  be  the  aim  and  end  of  the  whole' 
complex  of  all  human  energies,  the  only  adequate  memento  of  all 
periods  passed  by  a  people  and  by  each  man,  while  they  and  he  yet 
live ;  and  still  more  so  after  they  had  made  their  exeunt  from  the 
theatre  of  their  activity.  It  is  thus  that  language  becomes  the  red 
thread,  so  to  say,  whereon  the  deeds  and  fates  of  mortals  and  the  pheno- 
mena of  nature  are  strung,  hke  so  many  beads.  All  we  know  of  what 
is  past  in  ages  or  absent  in  space,  we  know  chiefly  by  language,  which 
is  not  only  a  preserving  substance  of  memorable  things,  but  also  a 
monument  of  itself  and  of  the  powei-s  that  have  produced  and  wielded 
it.  Language  may  be  likened  to  those  bodies  in  which  so-called  an- 
tediluvian organic  remains  are  found  (beds  of  coal,  slate,  yellow  am- 
ber, a.  s.  f.).  Niehuhr  calls  philology  a  mediator  between  the  remot- 
est ages,  preserving  uribroken  identity  with  the  noblest  ancient  nations, 
as  if  there  were  no  gulf  of  thousands  of  yeai's  between  them  and  us. 
Indeed,  language,  although  fleeting,  has  raised  monuments  more  en- 
dui-ing,  and  at  once  more  faithful,  than  those  of  stone  and  brass.  The 
arrow-headed  or  cuneiform  inscriptions  on  the  bricks  and  cylinders  of 
Babylon,  of  Assyria  and  on  the  monuments  of  the  Achemaenian  kings 
of  Pei-sia ;  the  hieroglyphs  of  Egypt,  and  various  other  monuments, 
are  most  valuable  to  the  student  of  histoiy,  on  account  of  their  being 
witnesses  of  tlie  si)iritual  life  of  the  respective  nations.  The  monosyl- 
labism  of  the  Chinese,  the  luxuriance  of  the  Sanscrit  and  the  fixed 
uniformity  of  the  Shemitic  languages  open  an  insight,  both  into  the 
distribution  and  the  mental  peculiarities  of  the  several  peoples. 

Our  present  social,  religious,  politic,  scientific,  and  artistic  culture 
and  civihzation  is  but  the  complicated  result  of  all  that  has  been  done 
and  lived  through  by  our  common  ancestry  in  mankind,  since  time 
immemorial ;  only  digested,  assimilated  by  the  composing  and  de- 
composing, filtering,  secreting,  a[)propriating  and  rejecting,  more  or 
less  neutralizing  power  of  time.  With  the  remoteness  of  past  ages  \ 
from  the  moments  of  our  existence,  the  mass  of  the  materials  borne 


LANGUAGE.  25 

to  light,  and  received  by  succeeding  generations,  as  the  common  heir- 
loom of  humanity,  fades  to  more  and  more  indistinctness.  If  even  the 
works  now  believed  to  be  those  of  one  individual,  are  suspected  to 
have  been  the  effAsiotis  of  several  inspired  men  (Orpheus,  Homer  ; 
Manu,  Wyasa,  WAtMiKi ;  the  authoi-s  of  the  Niebelungen  Lied  ; 
Shakspeare,  aiW  (Ahers) :  how  could  we  now  disentangle  the  con- 
glomerate, inherited  by  us  in  the  shape  of  language  itself,  into  the 
several  contributions  by  each  individual  nation,  or  even  by  each 
genius. 

Speech,  as  a  necessary  function  of  man's  sensations,  heart-affections 
and  intellectual  faculties,  arose  instinctively,  involuntarily,  yet  in  keep- 
ing with  the  divine  harmony  of  the  univei-se ;    whereas  the  single  lan- 
guages of  the%everal  nations  were  affected  by  the  more  or  less  cor- 
rect choice,  often  by  the  caprice  of  their  speakers,  who  themselves 
were  influenced  by  local  and  other  agencies.     The  essentials  of  the 
one  human  speech  are  ever  the  same.     Each  people's  genetic  power 
of  speech,  peculiar  in  each,  amalgamates  the  phonetic  (sound)  ele- 
ments with  the  feelings  and  mental  conceptions  into  an  organic  unity. 
Owing  to  the  individual  variety  of  each  man,  every  one  has  a  kind 
of  dialect  of  his  own,  which  varies,  even  according  to  the  different 
phases  of  his  intellectual  and  sensual  life  :  for  each  person  embodies 
whatever  his  mind  receives  or  produces,  according  to  its  peculiar  cast. 
Speech,  issuing  from  the  spirit,  reacts  also  upon  it.     Without   a 
union  with  sounds  of  speech  the  very  thoughts  are  faint ;  the  opera- 
tions of  the  brain,  the  articulations  of  the  organs  of  speech  and  the 
sensation  of  the  organ  of  hearing  being  one  inseparable  synergy  (co- 
operation).    Thought,  like  a  flash  of  lightning,  collects — crystallizes 
the  whole  power  of  the  mind  to  one  point,  and  uttei*s  itself  by  a  pre- 
cise distinct  unity  of  articulate  sounds.     All  nerves  connected  with  the 
phonetic  and  acoustic  organs  are  thus  set  in  motion,  and  the  surround- 
ing air  is  made  to  vibrate  with  mind.   As  thought  longs  to  break  forth 
from  its  hidden  recess  into  the  patent  space,  so  the  voice  strives  to 
issue  from  the  breast  through  "  the  hedge  of  teeth"  into  the  atmos- 
phere.    Speech  is  as  much  a  function  of  thinking  man  as  breathing, 
not  a  mere  means  of  communication  with  othei'S,  but  also  a  means  of 
understanding  himself. 

Peculiar  marks  of  objects  teach  us  to  distinguish,  while  their  com- 
mon marks  teach  us  to  combine.   Yet  we  ever  strive  higher  and  higher, 


'♦•^ 


26  LANGUAGE. 

towards  a  more  clear  and  more  embracing  unity ;  hence  the  one 
sound  is  made  to  be  the  symbolic  (coincident) •^presentative  of  the 
object,  of  its  inward  mental  picture  and  of  Ike^sym pathetic  (co-af- 
fected) effort  of  the  organs  of  speech  and  hearing.  In  no  other  sen- 
sual activity  is  there  a  more  wonderful,  a  more  cLnAicated,  yet  more 
shar])ly  distinct,  quantity  of  modifications,  than  il  Mis  embodiment 
of  our  spirit,  than  in  this  tnnity  of  object,  mind  and  voice,  one  and 
indivisible.  The  word  becomes  itself  a  new-outward  object,  linking 
the  world  with  man,  and  man  with  man.  The  erectness  of  man's 
body  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  uprightness  of  his  soul,  with  the 
upward  tendency  of  his  speech. 

"  Pronaque  cum  spectent  animalia  caetera  terram,  M 
Os  homini  sublime  dedit,  coelumque  tueri 
Jussit  et  erectos  ad  sidera  tollere  vultus." — Ovid.  Met.  I.  v.  84. 

Though  every  function  of  our  senses  be  synthetic  with  an  action  of 
our  soul,  yet  the  inward  picture  teal's  itself  from  this  union,  becomes 
an  outward  object,  and  being  perceived  in  its  turn,  revei*ts  inwardly  to 
make  of  itself  a  new  portrait  in  the  mind.  Thus  (what  is  called)  ob- 
jectivity is  transformed  into  subjectivity,  to  be  again  metamorphosed 
into  objectivity.  We  never  really  think  without  words,  though  they 
may  remain  "  in  petto,  sotto  voce,"  inaudible  to  others.  But  consid- 
ered as  a  phenomenon,  speech  develops  itself  only  in  society,  and 
man  understands  himself  fully  only  after  he  has  tiied  the  intelligibihty 
of  his  words  on  othbrs.  Mutual  understanding  sharpens  the  intellec- 
tual and  speech-powei*s  of  speakers  to  each  other ;  so  that  with  the 
increase  of  social  co-operation  in  speaking,  the  language  gains  in  per- 
fection. The  power  of  thought  needs  to  be  kindled  by  the  homoge- 
neity of  thought  in  othei-s  :  while  it  is  being  tested  by  the  heterogeneity 
of  the  latter. 

While  children  are  being  introduced  into  the  mysteries  of  speech 
that  floods  around  them,  although  yet  speechless  (infants),  they  learn, 
in  Pythagorean  silence,  the  whole  organism  of  language ;  they  not 
merely  store  up  words  in  their  memoiy,  but  they  grow  and  wax 
"  strong  in  spirit,  filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of  God  is  upon 
them" — St  Luke  ii.  40.  AUus  !  not  long  after  they  are  sent  into  the 
temple,  to  sit  "  in  the  midst  of  the  doctors,  both  hearing  them  and 
asking  them  questions"  (v.  46),  but  the  doctore  "  uudei-stand  not  the 


LANGUAGE.  4^ 

saying  which  they  speak  unto  them"  (v.  50) :  they  give  them  stones  . 
for  bread,  serpents  ^f  fishes. 

What  has  been  h|ard  renders  tlie  soul  capable  to  understand 
even  what  has  not  been  heard  yet ;  it  illumines  what  had  been  heard 
long  ago ;  it  shacpeni  the  instinct  and  the  faculty  to  lay  up  in  memo- 
ry ever  more  and  ever  better  stores.  By  the  spinning  (expanding) 
out  of  language,  the  child  spins  itself  into  it,  in  a  direct  ratio.  In 
the  same  way,  a  whole  people  becomes  bound  within  language  as  by 
a  circle  or  hoop  into  an  individual  collective  member  of  the  human 
race.  And  whereas  every  nation  exhibits  by  its  language  a  peculiar 
mode  of  its  own  intuition  of  the  world,  the  acquisition  of  a  foreign 
language  puts  us  on  a  new  point,  from  which  we  either  perceive  some 
features  of  the  world  clearer  than  by  means  of  our  vernacular,  or  al- 
togetlier  new  ones.  Charles  V.  used  to  say :  "  Autant  de  langues 
que  r  homme  sait  parler,  autant  de  fois  il  est  homme." — Brantome. 
Roger  Ascham,  the  celebrated  tutor  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  writes 
thus :  "  Even  as  a  hawke  fleeth  not  hie  with  one  wing,  even  so  a 
man  reacheth  not  to  excellency  with  one  tongue."  In  its  downward 
stream  in  time  language  took  up,  like  a  river,  the  detritus  of  the 
strata  of  generations  of  men  and  of  their  circumstances.  Our  mind 
grows  with  the  growth  of  our  linguistic  lore,  it  is  strengthened  by  its 
st!-ength.  MosHEH  would  hardly  have  been  as  mighty  in  words  and 
in  deeds,  as  both  show  him  to  have  been,  had  he  not  been  learned  in 
all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians  (Acts  vii.  22).  Simplicius  (Comm. 
Phys.  Arist.  1.  viii.  p.  268)  compares  the  sacred  books  of  Egypt  with 
Mosheh's,  and  concludes  that  he  followed  in  the  steps  of  Taoth. 

To  the  remarks  just  made,  which  coincide  in  essence  with  the  very 
eloquent,  though  rather  too  w^ordy,  introduction  to  the  Kawi  language, 
by  W.  V.  Humboldt,  it  will  be  most  useful,  before  concluding  this 
chapter,  to  add  some  extracts  from  the  Kosmos  of  his  co-illustrious 
brother  Alexander  : 

"  Languages,  compared  with  each  other,  and  considered  as  objects  of 
the  natural  history  of  the  human  mind,  being  divided  into  families  accord- 
ing to  the  analogy  of  their  internal  structure,  have  become  (and  it  is  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  results  of  modern  studies  in  the  last  sixty  or  seventy 
years)  a  rich  source  of  historical  knowledge.  Products  of  the  mental  pow- 
er, they  lead  us  back,  by  the  fundamental  characters  of  their  organization, 
to  an  obscure  and  otherwise  unknown  distance.    The  comparative  study  of 


28  LANGUAGE. 

languages  shows  how  races  or  nations,  now  separated  by  wide  regions  are 
related  to  each  other,  and  have  proceeded  from  a  common  seat ;  it  discloses 
the  direction  and  the  path  of  ancient  migrations  ;  in  tracing  out  epochs  of 
development,  it  recognises  in  the  more  or  less  altered  characters  of  the  lan- 
guage, in  the  permanency  of  certain  forms,  or  the  already  advanced  depart- 
ure from  them,  which  portion  of  the  race  has  preserv^ed  a  language  nearest 
to  that  of  their  former  common  dwelling-[)lace.  The  long  chain  of  the  In- 
do-European languages,  from  the  Ganges  to  the  Iberian  extremity  of  Eu- 
rope, from  Sicily  to  the  North  Cape,  furnishes  a  large  field  for  investiga- 
tions of  this  nature,  into  the  first  or  most  ancient  condition  of  language. 
The  same  historical  comparison  of  languages  leads  us  to  trace  the  native 
country  of  certain  productions,  which,  since  the  earliest  times,  have  been 
imported  objects  of  trade  and  barter.  We  find  that  the  Sanscrit  names  of 
true  Indian  productions — rice,  cotton,  nard,  and  sugar, — have  passed  into 
Greek,  and  partly  into  the  Semitic  languages." — Vol.  II.  p.  142. 

This  chapter  cannot  be  better  closed  than  wdth  Alex.  v.  Hum- 
boldt's conclusion  of  the  first  volume  of  his  ITosmos^Tp^igQ  378 :  "  Man- 
kind is  influenced  in  its  physical  gradations,  and  in  the  geographic  dis- 
tribution of  its  synchronic  types,  by  the  forces  of  the  earth  ;  it  influ- 
ences them,  though  less  powerfully,  in  its  turn.  Though  less  depend- 
ent than  plants  and  animals,  from  the  soil  and  from  the  meteoric 
processes  of  the  atmosphere,  escaping  the  powers  of  nature, — by 
spiritual  energy  and  gradually  rising  intelligence,  as  well  as  by  a 
wonderful  flexibility  of  organism  to  all  climes, — it  essentially  partakes 
of  the  whole  hfe  of  the  earth.  On  account  of  these  relations,  the 
mysterious  problem  of  a  possibihty  of  a  common  descent  belongs  to 
the  cycle  of  physical  cosmography.  The  immense  realm  of  lan- 
guages, in  whose  various  organisms  the  destinies  of  nations  are  mir- 
rored in  an  awfully  mysterious  manner, — is  next  in  importance  to 
the  province  of  the  stem-affinities  of  man.  The  results  of  even  little 
stem-divisions  are  taught  us  by  the  flower  of  the  spiritual  culture  of 
the  Greeks,  who  were  the  instructor  of  the  world.  The  weightiest 
questions  concerning  the  history  of  human  culture  are  connected  with 
the  ideas  on  the  origin  and  community  of  languages,  on  their  un- 
changeableness  in  a  spiritual  and  moral  direction.  As  long  as  wo 
dwelt  merely  at  the  extremes  of  the  variations  of  color  and  shape,  sur- 
rendering ourselves  to  the  vivacity  of  the  first  sensual  impressions, 
we  could  be  inclined  to  consider  races  not  as  mere  varieties,  but  as 
originally  different  stems  of  men.  The  fixedness  of  certain  types, 
amid  the  hostile  influences  of  external,  especially  of  climatic  powers, 


LANGUAGE.  2» 

seemed  to  favor  such  a  hypothesis  ;  however  short  were  the  periods 
of  which  we  had  received  historic  information. 

More  powerful  arguments  in  favor  of  the  unitj/  of  mankind  are  the 
many  intermediate  grades  of  the  principal  colors  of  the  skin  and  of 
the  shapes  of  the  skulls,  the  analogies  in  the  varieties  of  animals, 
and  the  sure  experiments  concerning  the  fertility  of  hybrid  produc- 
tions. The  work  of  Tiedemann  on  the  brain  of  Negroes  and  Euro- 
peans, the  anatomy  of  the  pelvis  by  Vrolik  and  Weber,  remove 
most  of  the  contrasts.  In  comparing  the  dark  Africans,  in  general, 
with  the  tribes  of  Southern  India  and  of  the  West  Australian  Archi- 
pelago, with  the  Papuas  and  Alfourous  (Ilarafores,  Endamenes),  we 
plainly  see  that  dark  skin,  woolly  hair  and  negro-features  are  not  al- 
ways united.  The  sun  heat  of  the  tropic  world  seemed  formerly 
inseparable  from  black  skin. 

Alexander's  expeditions  raised  the  dispute  about  the  uncertain 
influence  of  clime  on  nations.  John  Mueller,  in  his  all-compiising 
Physiology  of  Man,  says :  "  Genera  of  animals  and  plants  alter  dur- 
ing their  extension  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  within  hmits  pre- 
scribed to  genera  and  to  species.  They  propagate  as  type-varia- 
tions of  species  organically.  It  is  from  a  co-operation  of  various — 
internal  and  external — conditions,  which  do  not  admit  singly  of  demon- 
stration, that  the  present  races  of  animals  have  issued  ;  the  greatest 
varieties  being  of  those  which  are  capable  of  the  greatest  extension 
over  the  earth.  The  races  of  men  are  forms  of  a  single  species, 
which  are  fertile  among  themselves  ;  they  are  not  species  of  a  genus, 
for,  their  hybrids  would  otherwise  be  sterile  among  themselves. 
Whether  the  laces  of  men  originate  from  one  pair  or  from  several,  is 
indiscoverable  by  experience." 

The  geographic  inquiry  about  the  first  seat,  or  the  so-called 
"  cradle  of  mankind^^''  is,  indeed,  of  a  purely  mythic  character.  W. 
V.  Humboldt  (in  an  unprinted  work  "  on  the  different  languages  and 
nations")  speaks  thus  on  this  subject :  "  We  know,  either  from  his- 
tory or  even  by  any  certain  tradition,  no  point  of  time,  at  which 
mankind  lived,  otherwise  than  separated  into  groups  of  people. 
Whether  this  state  was  original  or  of  later  date,  cannot  be  decided 
on  historic  grounds.  Isolated  sagas  found  on  very  different  points  of 
the  globe,  without  any  visible  connection,  deny  the  former  hypothesis; 
deriving  the  whole  human  race  from  one  pair.     The  wide  spread  of 


30  LANGUAGE. 

this  saga  has  caused  it  to  pass  sometimes  for  an  original  remembrance 
of  mankind.  But  just  this  circumstance  proves  rather,  that  it  is  not 
based  on  tradition  or  on  histoiy,  but  merely  on  the  equality  of  human 
representation,  or  on  the  same  manner  of  explaining  the  same  pheno- 
menon ;  since  many  myths  arose  certainly  without  historic  connection, 
only  from  an  equality  of  human  fiction  and  curiosity.  That  legend 
shows  its  being  a  human  invention,  by  the  circumstance  that  it  strives 
to  illustrate  the  phenomenon  of  the  origin  of  mankind  (which  is. be- 
yond all  experience),  in  a  manner  that  is  based  on  modern  experi- 
ence, i.  e.  so,  as  if  it  had  happened  at  a  time  when  the  whole  human 
race  had  already  existed  through  a  millennium,  after  which  an  isola- 
ted valley  may  have  been  peopled.  In  vain  would  the  inquiry  have 
dipped  into  the  problem  of  that  first  origin ;  since  man  is  bound  to 
his  kindred  and  to  time,  so  that  no  individual  can  be  conceived  as 
existing  without  the  species  and  without  time  passed  before.  Wheth- 
er, therefore,  the  said  so-called  traditional  state  (in  a  question  which 
cannot  be  decided  either  by  meditation  or  by  experience)  was  a  real 
fact,  or  whether  mankind  lived  people-wise,  from  the  very  origin,  on 
this  earth, — Linguistic  cannot  venture  to  take  upon  itself  to  decide  ; 
nor  can  it,  in  using  a  decision  of  the  question  made  from  other  sources, 
be  tempted  to  employ  it  as  a  principle  of  explanation  *  on  its  own 
behalf.'" 

Mankind  can  only  be  divided  into  varieties,  which  are  designated 
by  the  indefinite  term  of  race.  As  it  is  safer  to  group  plants,  birds, 
etc.,  into  many  small  families,  so  are  little  famihes  of  people  prefera- 
ble to  large  ones.  My  teacher  Blumenbach  assumed  five  races  (the 
Caucasian^  Mongolic,  American,  ^"Ethiopian,  and  Malay ic\  Pritch- 
ard  seven  (the  Iranian,  Turanian,  American,  Hottentots  and  Bush- 
men, Negroes,  Papuas,  and  Alfourous),  both  without  typic  sharp- 
ness, without  a  thorough,  natural  principle  of  division.  We  separate 
what  appeai-s  to  be  extreme,  unsolicitous  about  stems  of  people  that 
are  not  intercalable,  dismissing  them  under  the  appellations  of  either 
Sci/thic  or  Allophyllic  races.  Iranian  is  a  fitter  name  for  European 
than  Caucasian.  On  the  whole,  geographic  denominations,  as  a 
point  of  starting,  are  very  indeterminate,  if  the  country  of  the  race 
(for  instance  the  Turanian  or  Mawerannahr)  luis  been  inhabited  by 
quite  dift'erent  stems,  at  difl:erent  times. 

Languages,  as  spiritual  cieatioiis  of  mankind,  being  deeply  en- 


LANGUAGE.  81 

twined  witli  its  spiritual  development,  have,  by  manifesting  a  national 
form,  a  higli  importance  on  the  decision  concerning  the  siniilaiity  or 
difterence  of  races.  Community  of  descent  leads  into  tli'  im  t^  li- 
ous  labyrinth,  wherein  the  connection  of  physic  dispositions  with  the 
spiritual  power  manifests  itself  in  thousandfold  various  shapes.  The 
glonous  progress  which  the  philosophic  study  of  languages  has  made 
in  Germany,  since  less  than  a  half  century,  facilitates  the  researches 
into  the  national  character  of  language,  and  into  the  results  produced 
by  descent.  But,  as  in  all  regions  of  ideal  speculation,  the  danger  of 
illusion  stands  here  also  at  the  side  of  the  hope  of  rich  and  certain 
gain  (W.  V.  Huuboldt  pn  Kawi), 

As  the  remainder  of  the  conclusion,  consisting  of  the  words  of 
the  Castor  and  Pollux  of  modem  science,  is  too  prolix  for  our  aim,  it 
follows  in  a  synopsis.  Long  subjection  of  one  people  to  another,  or 
their  long  dwelhng  together,  the  influence  of  foreign  religions,  the 
mixture  of  various  stems,  and  many  other  circumstances  produced  on 
both  continents,  a  similar  phenomenon,  i.  e.,  quite  different  families  of 
languages  in  one  and  the  same  race,  or  idioms  of  the  same  stem  of 
language  among  peoples  of  different  descent.  Asiatic  conquerors 
have  thus  acted  most  powerfully.  Although  the  freedom,  with 
which  the  mind  steadily  pursues  its  self-chosen  direction,  strive  to 
withdraw  nations  from  cosmic  influences,  the  emancipation  is  never 
completely  perfected.  There  always  remains  something  owing  to  de- 
scent, to  clime,  to  a  clear  blue  sky  or  to  a  murky  atmosphere. 
Whereas  the  luxuriance  and  grace  of  language  issue  from  thought, 
as  from  the  most  delicate  blossom  of  the  soul,  it  were  to  be  re- 
gretted that  the  innermost  bond  between  the  corporeal  and  spiritual 
sphere  of  man  should  sufler,  in  any  way,  from  considerations  on  the 
relation  which  descent  has  to  language. 

There  are  by  nature  no  higher  and  lower  races  of  men ;  although 
the  supporters  of  an  opposite  doctrine  be  headed  by  Aristotle  himself 
(Polit.  I.  3,  5,  6),  who  endeavors  to  prove  very  elaborately,  that 
slavery  is  a  natural  institution.  More  plastic,  more  cultivated 
stems  of  men  there  certainly  are,  but  none  is  absolutely  nobler  than 
the  others  by  nature.  All  are  equally  destined  to  enjoy  hberty, 
which  in  a  rude  state  of  society  belongs  to  the  individual,  and  in  an 
organized  state,  possessed  of  pohtic  institutions,  to  the  whole  common- 
wealth. 


32  LANGUAGE. 

Through  all  history  the  idea  of  perfectible  humanity  is  eveiy 
where  visible.  This  idea  consists  in  the  strife  to  remove  the  limits 
that  have  been  set  between  men  by  prejudice  and  one-sided  views  of 
all  kinds ;  to  treat  the  whole  of  mankind,  without  respect  to  religion, 
nationality  and  color,  as  one  gi*and  close  brotherhood,  tending  towards 
the  attainment  of  one  aim,  i.  e.,  the  free  development  of  the  inward 
energies.  Man  sees  the  earth,  the  sky,  as  far  as  he  can  reach,  swim- 
ming amid  stars,  which  he  contemplates  as  if  they  were  his  own. 
He  longs  to  go  beyond  the  hills  and  seas,  and  after  having  left  his 
home,  he  longs  to  return.  This  craving,  both  for  the  distant  and  for 
the  lost,  ever  guards  him  against  fixedness  on  one  spot.  Firmly  root- 
ed in  his  innermost  nature,  but,  at  the  same  time,  ever  aspiring  to  the 
higher  and  distant,  man  thus  becomes  apt  to  form  a  molecule  of  the 
whole  race,  tending  to  realize  the  idea  of  humanity. 

Alexander's  stirring  conquests,  Eome's  steady  state-policy,  the 
cruelty  of  the  Mexicans,  the  despotic  land-unions  of  the  Incas,  all  have 
contributed  towards  breaking  down  the  barriere  that  separated  vari- 
ous peoples,  towards  uniting  them  into  gTeater  communities.  Strong 
minds  acted  under  the  influence  of  one  idea,  which  may  have  been 
quite  strange  to  them  in  its  purity,  towards  the  same  end.  The  ten- 
dency to  this  consummation  was  fii-st  clearly  announced  by  Christ,  in 
the  deepest  meekness  of  truth.  But  the  darkness  of  the  Middle 
Ages  was  too  thick  for  this  light  to  shine  in.  Our  age  feels  more  the 
destiny  of  the  nations  to  become  united ;  even  egotism,  avarice, 
vanity  perceive  now  more  chances  of  success  in  this  direction,  than  in 
the  separation  of  men. 

Above  all,  language  comprehends,  more  than  any  thing  else,  every 
thing  that  belongs  to  man,  as  individual,  as  nation,  as  farmer,  tra- 
der, mechanic,  sailor,  artist,  a.  s.  f.  (H.  on  Kaivi), 

What  has  been  said  proves  the  great  range  and  weight  of  a  know- 
ledge of  language,  as  now  understood.  K.  O.  Mueller  was  among 
the  first  to  appreciate  fully  the  value  of  the  new  discoveries  in  this 
field.  "  Matters  have  come  to  that  point,"  he  says,  "  that  classical 
Philology  must  either  resign  altogether  the  historical  notion  of  the 
growth  of  language  as  well  as  all  et}Tnological  researches  into  the 
form  of  roots  and  the  organization  of  grammatical  formations,  or 
trust  itself  on  these  topics  altogether  to  the  counsel  and  guidance  of 
.j<.ni])aiative  Philology."     The  study  of  language,  thus  reformed,  is 


LANGUAGE.  33 

now  pursued  in  all  Universities  of  Germany.  But  there  is  no  coun- 
try in  wliicli  the  same  may  be  done  to  more  advantage,  than  these 
very  United  States,  on  a  system  and  by  a  method  less  fraught  with 
scholasticity  than  in  Germany,  more  simple  and  withal  much  more 
practic  and  intelligible  to  eveiy  capacity.  Were  it  impossible  to  con- 
trive such  a  method  of  learning  the  most  useful  languages  of  the  white- 
skinned  Christian  nations,  within  the  same  time,  with  the  same  ex- 
pense of  money,  and  labor,  as  is  now  being  bestowed  on  a  scanty 
acquisition  of  the  rules  of  the  vernacular,  of  the  Latin  and  French ; 
the  strictures  on  the  prevailing  practices  and  the  recommendations  of 
the  real  science  of  language  would  be  sheer  petulance.  But,  as  the 
sequel  will  show,  such  an  improved  system  and  method  is  no  fanciful 
speculation,  but  an  audible,  visible,  tangible  reality,  which  only  those 
cannot  hear,  see,  and  touch,  who  are  deaf,  blind  and  callous  by  nature 
or  education,  or  whose  interest  it  is  to  maintain  old  abuses  for  pecuni- 
ary profit.  Amongst  the  latter  may  be  numbered  the  great  majority 
of  publishers,  who,  having  invested  their  capital  in  printing  the  middle- 
aged  grammai-s  or  the  modern  empiric  tread-mill  method  of  Ollendorff, 
and  other  books  of  both  sorts,  do  all  they  can  to  prevent  the  public 
from  obtaining  light.  These  men  are  not  alone  to  be  blamed  for  be- 
ing a  kind  of  literary  Herods,  Shylocks,  and  Louis  Bonapartes ;  for 
they  are  assisted  by  the  host  of  the  common  teachers,  by  most  pro- 
fessor's of  colleges  and  of  so-called  universities,  and  by  the  devoted 
masses  of  the  people  themselves.  There  is  no  mountain  without  a 
valley,  no  cheat  without  a  dupe  ;  the  action  and  reaction  of  the  mys- 
tifiei"s  and  of  the  mystified  being  a  magic  cij'cle,  that  must  be  fii-st 
broken,  before  any  benefit  can  be  conferred  on  the  sheepishly  sub- 
missive people,  whether  in  rag-s  or  in  velvet.  Slovenliness  and  low- 
ness  of  taste  are  as  much  aristocratic  as  they  are  democratic ;  both 
are  now-a-days  the  only  equality  that  exists  among  the  various  classes 
of  society.  The  primary  schools  look  up,  in  stupid  adoration,  to  the 
colleges,  while  the  latter  excuse  their  want  of  proper  spirit  witli  the 
wretchedness  of  the  former.  It  is  veiy  hard  to  decide  which  of  the 
two  is  worse.  Unless  something  be  done,  that  is  honestly  and  really 
different  from  tho  pretended  improvements  made  all  over  this  bless- 
ed land,  there  can  be  no  reasonable  hope  of  real  mental,  moral,  and 
aesthetic  amelioration.  All  declarations  against  old  prejudices,  all 
anathemas  against  immorality,  all  scribblings  of  the  newspapei-s  against 
3 


34  LANGUAGE. 

despots,  alli3pQii^e^<5T  all  Kossiiths,  all  lectures  of  all  Brownsons, 
Hughe^«i^  Swt^l^sons,  Manns,  on  behalf  of  this  or  that  sect,  party, 
notion,  a.  s.  o. ;  all  trumpeting  a  la  Jericho, — all  these  noises,  directed 
mostly  against  past  evils, — absent  enemies,  unimpoi-tant  modifications 
(not  realities),  will  avail  nothing  unless  an  elementaiy,  radical, 
thorough  and  widely  extended  reform  of  our  ways  of  thinking,  feel- 
ing and  speaking,  and  of  our  habits  and  actions,  be  carried  out. 
There  is  no  effect  without  cause.  The  cause  of  the  evil  in  the  pre- 
sent subject  of  our  inquiry,  is  not  inherent  in  human  nature,  so  as  to 
offer  an  impossibihty  to  its  removal ;  but  it  is  so  insidious,  so  deeply- 
rooted,  so  eluding  perception ;  it  has  so  poisoned  the  ears,  eyes  and 
brain  of  the  milHons  of  reasonable  beings,  that  they  are  shocked  at 
being  told  that  they  carry  and  foster  the  venom  within  themselves. 
We  may  liken  this  abnormous  condition  of  thing-s  with  the  cholera, 
with  the  potato- disease,  and  with  similar  animal  and  vegetal  epidemics. 
In  all,  the  first  cause  consists  in  a  distemper  of  the  elements  of  the 
atmosphere,  or  soil,  the  next  consequence  being  a  subtle  dyscrasy  of 
the  animal  or  vegetal  organ  which  has  been  affected  by  the  fomier. 
While  the  dreadful  effects,  which  are  but  the  last  rings  of  the  chain 
of  all  disproportions  between  the  atoms  of  matter,  and  of  all  concom- 
itant dyshai-monies  between  the  energies  of  the  dynamic  momentum, 
— are  manifest ;  those  disproportions  and  dysharmonies,  escaping  the 
scalpel  of  the  anatomist,  the  tests  of  the  chemist,  the  diagnostic 
acumen  of  the  leecji,  w^ithdraw  themselves  from  the  possible  correc- 
tion by  means  that  are  at  hand,  though  not  at  brain. 

As  this  treatise  aims  at  least  to  suggest,  if  not  to  apply,  a  radical 
cure  to  the  gigantic,  mysterious,  antihuman,  absurd  practices  of  the 
nursery,  primary  school,  academy,  lyceum,  college,  institute,  university', 
boarding-school,  seminary,  et  hoc  genus  omne ;  as  it  openly  pro- 
claims its  revolutionary  tendency,  disregarding  ill-acquired  popularity 
as  well  as  not  hoping  to  obtain  protection  under  the  shadow  of  the 
wings  of  the  opulent  institutions  for  tlie  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge ; 
it  is  indispensably  necessary  for  those  who  are  not  afraid  to  touch  so 
dangerous  a  Bombastes,  but  willing  to  examine  what  he  offei-s, — to 
adopt  all  that  he  is  about  to  propose ;  if  they  would  undei-stand  him, 
feel  the  bearing  of  what  may  seem  at  the  fii-st  glance  mere  assertion, 
and  if  they  hope  to  be  benefited  by  his  recommendations. 

"  Prove  all  things;  hold  fast  that  which  is  good"  (St.  Paul's  1st 
Epistle  to  the  Thessal.  v.  21). 


■'^■ 


CHAPTER    II, 


ENGLISH     LANGUAGE. 


"  Lords  and  Commons  of  England ;  consider  what  nation  it  is  whereof  Yc  are,  and  whereof 
Ye  are  the  governors.  A  nation  not  slow  and  dull,  but  of  a  quick,  ingenious  and  piercing 
spirit,  acute  to  invent,  subtle  and  sinewy  to  discourse,  not  beneath  the  reach  of  any  point  the 
highest  that  human  capacity  can  soar  to.  Therefore  the  studies  of  learning  in  her  deepest 
sciences  have  been  so  antient  and  so  eminent  among  us,  that  writers  of  goorl  antiquity  and 
ablest  judges  have  been  persuaded  that  even  the  school  of  Pythagoras  and  the  Persian  wisdom 
took  beginning  from  the  old  philosophy  of  this  island.  And  that  wise  and  civil  Roman  Ji7li- 
us  Agricola,  who  governed  once  here  for  Caesar,  preferred  the  natural  wits  of  Britain  before 
the  labored  studies  of  the  French.  Nor  is  it  for  nothing  that  the  grave  and  frugal  Transylta- 
nian  sends  out  yearly  from  as  far  as  the  mountainous  borders  of  Russia  and  beyond  the  IJer- 
cynian  wilderness,  not  their  youth,  but  their  stayed  men,  to  learn  our  language,  a.  s.  f."— 
Areopagitica,  a  Speech  of  John  Milton,  for  the  Liberty  of  Unlicensed  Printing,  to  the  Parli- 
ament.   London,  1644. 


From  this  passage  we  learn  two  things,  viz.,  that  the  English  mind, 
and  consequently  language,  were  justly  appreciated  by  Milton,  and 
that  the  Transylvanians,  and  consequently,  the  liberals  of  Hungary, 
looked  up  to  England,  as  a  leader  of  other  nations,  in  many  respects. 
Unluckily  for  both,  the  English  language  and  Hungary  ;  dull-minded 
tamperei"s  who  did  not  look  beyond  the  tip  of  their  noses  (a  sort  of 
people  whom  the  Germans  call  naseweis,  i.  e.  nose-wise),  heedless  of  the 
deep  philosophy  latent  in  their  mother-tongue,  and  of  its  life  connex- 
ion with  its  sister  dialects,  have  impaired  its  genius,  and  majestic 
character  by  silly  theories  of  mechanic  grammar ;  while  the  treasures 
of  humanity  (also  latent  to  the  mere  enjoyment-hunting  nations  of 
Western  Europe)  in  Hungary  and  in  the  surrounding  countries, 
have  been  successfully  prevented,  by  the  house  of  Habsburg-Lorraine, 
from  joining  in  the  chorus  of  even  that  progress  which  Germany, 
England  and  France  have  made,  within  the  last  two  centuries.     The 


»36  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

/ 

solidarity. of  •igi^j^nCejTtastelessness  and  despotism  is  thus  once  more 
rendered  evident. 

It  would  endanger  the  impression,  intended  to  be  made  by  this 
essay,  on  the  sleepy  waters  of  the  schools,  if  we  leapt  at  once  into 
"  medias  res,"  without  before  attempting  to  stir  up  those  waters ;  to 
displace  the  unconscious,  cacochymic,  half  vegetal  and  half  animal 
mattei"s  of  equivocal  generation,  that  are  infecting  the  pure  souls  of 
the  young,  under  the  pompous  titles  of  orthoepy,  orthography,  proso- 
dy, and  the  like.  As  mathematicians, — and,  indeed  all  real  students 
of  nature, — proceed  from  the  known  to  the  unknown  ;  as  they  define 
terms,  enunciate  axioms,  examine  the  method  on  which  they  are 
about  to  proceed  :  so  must  we  also  begin  with  the  languages  known 
to  those  who  profit  by  the  present  disquisition ;  so  must  we,  if  not 
yet  able  just  here  to  build  up,  put  out  of  the  way  what  can  but 
hinder  our  forward-steps.  Not  only  is  it  necessary  to  clear  the  path 
from  impediments,  but  also  to  examine,  to  sharpen,  to  clean  the  tools, 
with  which  we  are  to  work  ;  and,  what  is  of  paramount  importance,  to 
try  our  materials  for  the  new  edifice  about  to  be  reared.  Our  task 
is  greater,  more  delicate  than  that  of  any  other  instructor.  A  cure 
of  a  deeply  seated,  almost  unseizable  mental,  moral,  financial,  biblio- 
polic, — and  what  is  most, — popular  disease  is  to  be  effected.  The  pa- 
tient is  million-headed,  led  by  Scribes  and  Phansees,  and  believing  to 
feed  on  intellectual  manna  of  their  own  make.  The  priests  (elders) 
and  the  captains  of  the  temple  (college)  and  the  Sadducees  come 
upon  him  who  dares  to  teach  freely ;  they  lay  hands  upon  him,  put 
him  in  hold  in  Europe ;  but  not  daring  to  do  the  same  here,  they 
let  him  starve  (comp.  Acts  iv.  l-r7,  etc.)  What  to  do  ? — "  Ye  are 
the  salt  of  the  earth  :  but  if  the  salt  have  lost  his  savor,  wherewith 
shall  it  be  salted  ?  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing,  but  to  be  cast 
out,  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world.  A  city  that  is  set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid.  Neitlier  do 
men  lioht  a  candle  and  put  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick ; 
and  it  gnveth  light  unto  all  that  are  in  the  house.  Let  your  light  so 
shine  before  men,  that  they  may  see  your  good  works,  and  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  hea\en." — St.  Mattli.  v.  13-16.  The  only 
excuse  for  the  gigantic  indifference  of  the  majority  of  the  English 
and  American  schoolmen, — from  Oxford  and  Cambridge  down  to 
the  poorest  schools  in  Australia,  on  the  Shetland  isles  and  in  the 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  §f 

Rocky  Mountains, — on  the  subject  of  their  own  noble  tongue,  may 
be  their  not  knowing'  wliat  they  do.  If  so,  "  Father  forgive  them." 
St.  Luke  xxiii.  84. 

It  will  be  said  :  Have  Professoi-s  Latham,  Fowler,  etc.,  not  writ- 
ten great  works  on  the  English  language,  not  to  speak  of  the  many 
other  authors  before  them  ?  Yes,  indeed,  there  is  no  lack  of  pnm- 
ers  and  grammai*s  of  all  kinds,  of  dictionaries,  pronouncing  diction- 
aries, glossaries,  chrestomathies,  readers,  etc. ;  there  is  a  great  deal  of 
admirable  material  furnished  to  those  who  might  convert  it  into 
wholesome  nourishing  food  of  the  mind.  BUT  almost  all  (?)  of  those 
writem  are  either  mere  purveyoi's,  market-men,  hucksters,  butlers, 
grocei's,  or  even  no  more  than  "chiffoniers,"  curiosity-shop-keepers, 
etc. :  compiling  pele-m61e,  displaying  some  tinsel  of  learning,  lum- 
bering and  bewildering  the  mind  of  the  reader.  They  are  no  cooks, 
they  care  nothing  about  mental  dietetics:  all  they  strive  after  is 
some  money  and  some  fame.  As  for  the  public,  its  old  portion 
is  so  imbued  with  that  which  is  sound  and  unsound,  that  they 
even  do  not  dream  about  a  possibility  of  such  a  distinction.  Their 
spiritual  organs  and  energies  of  digestion  are  quite  withered ;  their 
chewing  apparatus — no  !  they  do  not  even  know  what  they  swallow, 
that  there  can  be  such  a  thing  as  chewing,  assimilating  mental  food. 
Still  less  is  it  even  suspected  by  them,  that  their  own  mother-tongue 
is  the  most  wonderful  vehicle  of  the  mind,  the  best  means  of  acquir- 
ing other  noble  languages  by ;  that  theii-  very  processes  of  what 
they  call  "studying  English"  are  so  many  fettei-s,  blinds,  stumbling- 
blocks,  that  keep  them  from  making  ten  times  as  much  out  of  it, 
according  to  what  God  has  put  into  the  same  ;  if  they. only  had  the 
light  and  heart  to  throw  those  obstacles  overboard.  So  true  .is  the 
saying  of  Horace  :  "  Quo  semel  est  imbuta  recens,  servabit  odorem 
testa  diu." 

The  Latin  language  itself  (see  p.  18),  has  been  poisoned  by  the 
noisomeness  of  the  English  cacoepy  and  cacography.  It  is  not  easy 
to  ascertain  at  precisely  what  time  the  corruption  of  the  Latin  vow- 
els began  in  England.  This  probably  took  place  gradually  as  in 
English.  Many  attempts  were  made  to  check  this  pestilence,  or  at 
least  to  stop  its  increase ;  and,  afterwards,  to  reform  it.  We  find 
complaints  of  this  deterioration  in  the  iVth  and  18th  centuries,  when 
the  Latin  ceased  to  be  a  medium  of  oral  communication  between 


88  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

English  and  continental  scholai-s.  The  highest  authority  of  Milton 
thus  entei-s  the  lists  against  this  evil,  in  a  letter  on  education,  to  Hart- 
lib,  recommending  among  the  iii-st  rules  for  exercises  in  his  model- 
school  :  "  That  the  speech  (of  the  pupils)  be  fashioned  to  a  distinct 
and  clear  pronunciation,  as  near  as  possible  to  the  Italian,  especially 
in  the  vowels.  For  we  Englishmen,  being  far  northerly,  do  not  open 
our  mouths  in  the  cold  air  wide  enough  to  grace  a  southern  tongue  ; 
but  are  observed  by  all  other  nations  to  speak  exceeding  close  and 
inward ;  so  that  to  smatter  Latin  with  an  Enorlish  tongue  is  as  ill  a 
hearing  as  Law-French."  Rob.  Ainsworth,  Thesaur.  ling.  Lai.  com- 
pend.  Lond.  1746,  with  a  very  valuable  preface  on  Lat.  pronuncia- 
tion, which  is  (stupidly  ?  or  cunningly  ?  dishonesty  !)  omitted  in  the 
American  school  editions,  says  :  "  With  much  reluctance  I  remark 
that  foreigners  hold  us  httle  better  than  barbarians  in  many  parts  of 
pronunciation."  He  particularly  reprehends  the  neglect  in  the  quan- 
tity of  vowels  and  the  "  depraved  sound"  of  C  and  G  before  a3,  oe,  e,  i. 
"  The  irregular  and  uncertain  pronunciation  of  these  letters  proves 
often  a  great  discouragement  to  those  who  desire  to  learn  our  tongue, 
and  this,  together  with  our  different  sound  of  the  vowels,  makes  our 
Latiuj  though  much  purer  generally  than  theirs,  almost  as  unintelligi- 
ble as  our  Engli.^  h  . .  .  .  This  I  leave  to  the  consideration  and  redress 
of  the  learned  schoolmasters  of  this  kingdom^''  [=  goats  and  hens  in 
a  garden !]  as  well  deserving  it . ..."  To  say  nashio  instead  of  na- 
Tio,  t  as  in  Till,  is  absurd,  if  we  did  not  SUBMIT  to  a  harharoiLS 
prescription^  [Englishmen  submit  to  wrong !]  Phillips,  a  precep- 
tor to  some  royal  princess,  a  man  of  great  attainments  and  very  famil- 
iar with  many  modern  tongues,  writes  thus  in  his  "  Method  of  teach- 
ing Languages,"  1750 :  "Special  care  must  be  taken  to  wean  the 
youth  from  an  awkward  manner  of  pronouncing.  He  gave  me  a 
great  deal  of  trouble  for  some  months  on  this  head ;  so  that  I  had 
much  ado  to  pei*suade  him  to  open  his  mouth ;  for  he  pronounced 
the  vowels  very  badly,  especially  the  A  and  E,  for,  instead  of  Amo, 
he  pronounced  Emo ;  and  when  he  pronounced  Emo  (to  buy),  he 
called  it  Imo,  and  instead  of  this  (yes),  he  said  Almo."  He  speaks 
of  this  inelegant  mode  of  pronouncing  Ljttin,  as  of  a  thing  common, 
yet  not  universal :  "  Many  gentlemen  in  England  still  speak  Latin 
like  men,  (yre  rotundo.^"*  A  correct  pronunciation  of  Latin  vowels  was 
taught  in  Winchester  College,  until  the  middle  of  the  last  century,— 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  80 

Dr.  Foster  (Essay  on  accent  and  quantity)  Complains  of  the  violence 
done  to  the  quantity  of  the  ancient  languages  by  the  English  pro- 
nunciation, and  that,  though  an  attachment  be  professed  to  it  "  yet 
this  very  quantity  they  do  all  (most  of  them  without  knowing  it) 
most  grossly  corrupt.  This  assertion,  I  am  aware,  is  very  repugnant 
to  the  prejudices  of  many  persons,  who  have  long  flattered  them- 
selves with  an  opinion,  that,  in  their  pronunciation  of  Greek  and  Latin, 
they  strictly  adhere  to  the  right  quantity,  and  will,  therefore,  startle 
at  the  very  mention  of  their  violation  of  it.  Yet  this,  I  am  pereuad- 
ed,  will  appear  to  an  attentive  English  reader,  who  shall  make  a  trial 
of  a  few  lines,  either  in  verse  or  prose,  in  any  ancient  author  with 
this  view.  He  will  find,  I  believe,  that  he  pronounceth  as  long  eveiy 
short  penultimate  of  all  dissyllables,  and  every  short  antepenultimate 
of  all  polysyllables,  that  have  their  penultima  short  too."  Mitford 
(Inquiry  into  the  Principles  of  the  Harmony  in  Language ;  at  the 
close  of  the  18th  century)  points  out  the  absurdity  of  introducing 
into  Latin  the  eccentric  pronunciation  of  the  English  ;  he  represents  its 
inco7npatihility  with  the  true  quantity  of  syllables,  and  proposes  the 
restoration  of  the  ancient  sounds  of  the  vowels,  as  in  Italian. — All 
these  wise  admonitions  were  unavailing  against  the  prejudices,  the 
vanity  and  tastelessness  of  those  educated  under  the  humdrum-sys- 
tem of  English  schools.  A  reform  is  likewise  distasteful  to  many  en- 
gaged in  teaching  the  Latin,  who  find  their  interest  and  reputation  for 
learning  involved  in  the  amelioration.  Their  ranks  are  swelled  by 
the  great  legion  of  persons  of  very  narrow  attainments,  commonly 
called  scholars  (crxoXao-TtKos,  ease- enjoying,  idle,  slow,  slothful) : 
*'  Many,  or  perhaps  most,  of  the  most  learned  of  whom,"  as  Mitford 
writes,  "  are  httle  acquainted  with  any  living  language  but  their  own, 
and  wholly  unpractised  in  any  other  pronunciation." 

It  may  be  asked  :  Of  what  importance  is  this  recommended 
change  ?  This  question  can  fairly  be  met  by  the  counter-questions  : 
Of  what  importance  is  the  mis-pronunciation  which  is  about  150 
yeai-s  old  ? — Of  what  importance  are  dysharmony,  cacophony,  false- 
hood, the  cutting  off  from  other  nations,  and  all  other  evil  thin^ 
connected  with,  and  resulting  from,  the  vulgar  practice  ?  If  it  be  not 
enough  to  answer,  that  in  a  harmonious  univei-se  truth  and  consistency 
cannot  fail  to  be  useful,  simply  because  they  comply  with  the  laws  of  the 
human  mind  and  ear ;  we  can  but  refer  the  reader  to  what  has  al- 


4^  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

ready  been  said,  and  to  what  is  yet  to  follow.  The  philosopher  whose 
single  aim  is  truth^  and  who  devoutly  believes  that  there  is  no  fact 
which  does  not  cover  an  infinite  depth,  no  truth  without  infinite  hv- 
ing  consequences,  w^ill  need  nothing  more.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
man  of  the  world,  and  the  tender  mother,  will  be  satisfied  to  know, 
that  the  true  pj'onunciation  of  languages  brings  out  their  intrinsic 
affinities,  their  appproximation  as  they  approach  their  origin  in  time, 
their  essential  common  properties  and  their  identification  at  the 
centre  of  the  mind  :  so  that  many  languages  can  be  learnt,  when 
treated  in  a  reasonable  way,  i.  e.,  in  keeping  with  their  life-principle, — 
at  once,  more  rapidly,  more  tlioroughly,  more  pleasantly,  without  in- 
juring the  mind,  than  any  one  language  can  be  acquired  when  isolated, 
cut  off  from  the  universal  principles  of  speech.  A  sufficient  reason 
in  itself  for  recovering  the  true  pronunciation  of  Latin  is  its  beauty. 
To  put  the  vowels  into  such  harlequin-costume,  as  they  are  uttered  in 
the  so-called  English  pronunciation,  is  a  crime  against  Roman  taste, 
which  should  terrify  us  with  the  ghosts  of  a  hardy,  well-hearing  na- 
tion, devoted  to  order  and  symmetry.  To  utter  C  and  G  before  e,  i, 
and  T  before  m,  ie^  io,  iu,  with  hissing  sounds,  overloads  the  language 
with  displeasing  sibilants — there  being  already  too  many  of  them  in 
the  language ;  witness  the  terminations  of  verbs  and  nouns  in  conju- 
gation and  declension.  To  add  to  the  latter  those  gutturals  and  the 
dental,  is  turning  the  pompous  senate  of  Home  into  a  mass  of  hissing 
snakes. 

There  are  three  i^easons  for  speaking  of  the  Latin  in  this  chapter, 
viz.,  a)  on  account  of  its  importance  to  Glossology,  on  account  of  the 
pellucid  naturalness  and,  therefore,  truthfulness  of  its  lexic  constitution 
as  well  as  of  the  richness  of  its  numerous  living  offspring  ;  b)  because  it 
forms  full  two-thirds  of  the  English  tongue  ;  c)  because  the  common 
assertion  that  the  Latin,  as  mispronounced  by  the  English,  is  pronounced 
like  the  English,  is  utterly  unfounded. — This  last  point  we  prove  thus. 
Although  the  Latin  element  prodominate  over  the  Teutic  or  so-called 
Anglo-Saxon,  as  to  massiveness ;  the  genius  and  character  of  tlie 
English  is  pre-eminently  Teutic :  so  that,  in  speaking  about  the  real 
English,  we  mean  just  this  Teutic  or  Anglic  genius.  Now,  as  this 
genius  is  the  soul  of  the  Anglic  body  (i.  e.  of  the  words),  when  we 
say  that  the  Latin  is  pronounced  like  the  English,  we  cannot  mean 
any  thing  else  (if  we  mean  aught),  than  that  this  pronunciation  is  con- 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  4^ 

sonant  with  the  genius  and  body  of  the  Anglic.  For,  the  mispro- 
nounced.Latin  cannot  give  the  law  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  an- 
cient Latin  which  had  ceased  to  be  spoken  by  its  own  nation,  before 
the  present  English  language  arose  by  mixture.  The  Latin  cannot 
give  evidence  against  itself,  it  cannot  be  felo  de  se.  It  is  plain  that  if 
we  wish  to  tell  a  true,  and  not  a  false  thing,  we  cannot  say  that  the 
genuine  Anglo-Saxon  portion  of  English  is  pronounced  like  its  Latin 
contingent.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  doubt  that  this  germain,  legiti- 
mate, Teutic  English  is  just  so  pronounced  (where  it  is  pronounced) 
as  the  ancient  Latin  itself  had  been  pronounced,  a)  and  that  this  same 
genuine  (Anglo-Saxon)  portion  is  just  there  wrongly  (rather  not  at  all) 
pronounced,  b)  where  the  Latin  portion  of  Enghsh  is  correctly  pro- 
nounced. This  may  sound  like  a  puzzle  or  hair-sphtting ;  but  is  nev- 
ertheless true  !     Here  is  the  evidence  : 

a)  As  there  was  no  such  sound  either  in  Anglo-Saxon  or  in  Latin,  as  that 
of  the  squeezed,  misnamed  soft  G  before  e,  z,  y,  and  of  Jevery  where ;  and  as 
there  is  no  shifting  or  altering  of  sounds  in  consequence  of  position  in  any  An- 
glo-Saxon English  word  (i.  e.  as  g  is  always  guttural,  or  hard,  by  a  misnomer) : 
it  is  false  to  say  that  Lat.  lego,  legis,  Icgere  is  pronounced  (as  to  g)  like  give^ 
giving,  bigger.  For  if  it  were  so  sounded,  we  should  either  have  :  lego,  leghiSj 
Icghcre  or  jive,  jiving,  bigjer,  &c.  Similarly  with  C  before  e,  i,  y  ;*  except 
only  that  it  is  sounded  like  S,  when,  as  in  Latin,  it  always  sounded  k.  For 
this  reason  we  have  the  see-saws  of  cat,  bitten ;  candle,  cinders,  kindle ; 
cook,  kitchen,  &c. 

b)  Right,  light,  night,  mi^o-;^t,  eight,  ^ght,  brou^^^t,  etc.,  are  co-ordinates  to 
rect-,  and  rex  (recs) ;  lu.-c  (lues)  noct-  and  nox  (noes),  ma«n-,  oct,  pu^n-, 
fruct-.  Most  of  these  Latin  forms  are  used  in  English  :  but  -gh-  is  not  heard 
at  all  in  the  words  first-named  which  were  coined  in  the  Anglic  mint,  while 
the  corresponding  gutturals  c,  g  are  never  left  out  in  the  latter  words,  from 
the  Roman  mint,  both  out  of  the  same  natural  material. 

Were  the  English  to  pronounce  Latin,  as  they  do  the  bone  and 
marrow  and  nerve  of  their  oiiginal  language,  they  would  do  justice 
to  the  Latin ;  they  w^ould  be  able  to  learn,  or  at  least  to  appreciate, 
the  Italian,  Spanish,  Portuguese,  Provencal,  Valachic,  even  the  French, 
and  German,  Holland.,  Russian,  Icelandic,  Danish,  Swedish,  etc.,  lan- 
guages ;  they  would  be  both,  more  apt  and  wiUing,  to  attempt  even 


I 


*  Not  having  yet  disposed  of  the  English  pronunciation,  the  graphic 
representations,  such  as  leghere,  bigjer,  etc.,  are  yet  to  be  pronounced  as  in 
the  current  English. 

3* 


42  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

the  Slavic  tongues,  etc.,  etc. :  not  to  speak  of  many  other  promts, 
which  could  not  fail  to  result  from  their  doing  simply  the  duty  of  rea- 
sonable beings  towards  themselves.  A  great  step  would  be  made  to- 
wards emancipation  from  a  barbarous^  ridiculous^  disadvantageous^ 
dear  J  antihuman  mental  thraldom  !  Non-compliance  with  nature's 
laws  is  ever  severely  punished.  "  Lento  passu  ad  vindictam  eius  pro- 
cedit  ira,  tarditatemque  supplicii  gravitate  compensat." 

KuEHNER  is  one  among  many  grammarians  who  give  the  gen- 
uine mode  of  pronouncing  Latin.  Do  you  know,  reader,  what  is  done 
with  their  admonitions  ?  They  are  either  left  out,  or  altered  by  the 
filibusteros  who  steal  the  laboi-s  of  their  mind,  in  order  to  deceive 
those  from  whom  they  intend  nothing  else  than  to  pick  money.  This 
was  done  in  the  case  of  Ainsworth's  Thesaurus ;  this  is  done  with  all 
other  good  and  honest  works ;  this  was  done  and  is  being  done  with 
Kueiiner's  Latin  and  Greek  Grammars.  In  his  Greek  gi-ammar,  late- 
ly published  at  Andover,  and  in  the  Latin  at  Boston,  he  is  made  to 
behe  his  own  convictions ;  the  chaptere  on  pronunciation  being  ac- 
commodated to  the  prevailing  erroi-s  of  the  English  and  American 
schools.  Theft  from  the  author,  and  Poison  to  the  dupe  who  pays 
for  being  sent  on  a  fool's  errand  !  Innocent  youth  is  thus  fed  on  tro- 
phies of  two  sins.  This  is  the  common  practice  of  publishers  and 
scholastic  pilferers,  in  this  best  of  all  republics.  In  England  there  is 
somewhat  less  of  want  of  conscience  and  decency  in  this  respect. 

Such  "cWwzma  Zcesop  Aw/^^a?^^7a^^V' maintain  that  superficial  and 
rickety  knowledge  of  language,  which  is  the  well  of  such  evils  as  are 
not  even  thought  of  by  parents,  learnei-s  and  teachers.  One  of  these 
evils  is  the  incapacity  to  understand  the  exact  incaninn^,  import,  and 
consequently,  use  of  Euphony  (well-sounding).  Very  few  pei*sons 
clearly  know  what  a  letter^  what  a  sound  is ;  fewer  understand  the 
meaning  of  element^  diphthong^  vowel,,  quantity^  accent ;  still  fewer 
think  that  an  integral  and  vital  part  of  each  language  is  its  pronunci- 
ation;  and  but  "rari  nantes  in  gurgitc  viusto"  can  appreciate  the  real 
value  of  a  correct  acquisition  of  language  ; — all  in  consequence  of  the 
senseless  way  in  which  they  have  been  taught,  especially  tlieir  vernac- 
ular. The  Irish  news-boys,  whose  cracked  voices  fill  the  ears  of  peo- 
ple in  Wall-street  and  Broadway,  are  an  authority  in  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  English :  more  so  than  J.  Grimm^  Bopp^  Pott^  etc.,  all  philol- 
ogists, glossologists,  ortlioepists,  etc.,  together.     Those  boys  and  simi- 


SNGLISH  LANGUAGE.  43 

lar  authorities  have  introduced,  among  many  other  things,  the  pronun- 
ciation of  "  Tribune^''  not  as  Tribune  (i.  e.,  Trib-youn)^  but  as  Treye- 
byoun^  with  two  accents.     Merchants,  scholars,  and  the  w^hole  people 
follow,  of  coui-se ;  not  having  any  standard  or  flag  elsewhere.     Hence 
we  hear  Eye-ta-lian  instead  of  Italian,  Tolee-do  instead  of  Toledo, 
and  other  monstei-s  innumerable.     If  an  Italian,  Spaniard,  German, 
etc.,  try  to  correct  this  abuse,  he  can  never  succeed :  the  pupils,  with- 
out almost  any  exception,  slip  back  into  their  cacophonic  mire.    What 
they  call  Spelling  drags  them  back  (see  p.  1 9).     The  teacher  must 
either  allow  all  other  languages  to  be  spelled  as  the  English  is,  or 
endeavor  to  break  the  pupil  from  this  habit.     In  the  former  case, 
the  new  language  can  never  be  well  or,  at  least,  easily  learnt :  while 
in  the  latter,  much  precious  time  is  lost  in  wrangling  Sisyphus-like, 
History,  statistics,  ethnography,  geography  and  other  sciences,  get  also 
their  share  of  the  falsehood  and  gi'acelessness,  flowing  from  that  de- 
filed source  of  the  scholastic  bat-winged  Pegas-inus  {ovoKprjvyj).     Ke- 
dron,  Kcesar^  Kherub^  Kyrus,  Kimon^  Kikero^  Ghin£ssaret^  Ghibbe- 
tlion^  Gellius^  Thoukeedides^  Yehosh,  Yeshayah,  Yirmeyah,  YeHes- 
kel^  AhmoSj  Yonah,  SeHaryaJi,  and  all  the  proper  names  in  all  lan- 
guages (even  those  of  ancient  English)  become  so  disfigured,  that 
they  could  not  be  recognized  by  whoever  may  know  them  con-ectly. 
The  above  names  have  been  attempted  to  be  written  so  as  to  repre- 
sent their  true  sounds  :  but  to  do  this  is  absolutely  impossible  in  the 
present  state  of  hallucination  of  the  English  hearing  and  uttering. 
For,  the  e,  a,  ^,  u  ;  ge^  gi ;  che^  cki ;  tia,   tie,   tio,  tiu  ;  sia,  sie,  sio, 
siu ;    and  many   other   combinations,  offer  an  obstinate  resistance 
against  their  being  properly  represented  to  the  English  reader.   Leav- 
ing the  reader  to  guess  out  the  common  manner  of  writing  the  above 
names  in  English,  their  usual  mispronunciation  alone  is  here  given, 
viz. :  Sigh-dron,  See-sar^  Tsherub^   Sigh-rus^  See-sdy-ro,  Sigh-mon, 
Dzhinessaret,  Dzkibbeton,  Dzhellius,  Too-sigh-didees,  Dzhoshua,  Eye- 
say-ah^  Dzheremigh-ah^  Ezekiel^  A-moSj  Dzh<mah,  Zakdw-righ-ak. — 
How  does  this  look  ?     Instead  of  one  plain  reality  we  have   three 
crooks.      What  ? — Even  the  name  of  this  kind  of  confusion  has  not 
been  found  yet  in  any  language  ;  it  certainly  ought  to  be  invented  by 
some  of  the  Corybantes  of  the  English  schools.     What  is  a  line  (su- 
perfluously called  a  straight  or  right  line)  in  nature,  is  made  to  be  a 


44f  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

sort  of  quincunx  (or  triunx  ?  multiunx  ?  confundiunx  ?  squintiunx  ? 
See  pp.  10-16,  19). 

The  perplexities  wrought  in  the  most  delicate  operations  of  the 
mind ;  the  injuries  inflicted  to  the  sense  of  hearing  (which  amount  to 
a  deafness  for  the  elegancies  of  harmony  and  melody) ; — nay, — a 
perversion  of  the  very  moral  sentiment, — are  among  the  fruits  of 
the  customary  method  of  teaching  the  Ai^  Bee,  See.  Children  are 
fcyrced  to  become  hearera,  tellers,  and  artisans  of  thousands  of  false- 
hoods and  absurdities,  eveiy  day.  Let  us  take  a  sentence ;  let  us 
(what  is  falsely  called  so)  spell  it ;  let  us  compare  the  real  constitu- 
ent simple  sounds  of  the  words  with  the  syllables  (or  so-called  names 
of  letter) ;  and  let  us  count  the, — Yes,— I  cannot  help  calling  the 
thing  by  its  name, — Lies.  One  of  Noah  Webster's  definitions  of 
this  word  is :  "  that  ivhich  deceives  and  disappoints  confidence.^''  Now 
children  are  confident;  parents  are  confident  that  their  children's 
^nds  will  be  improved  by  schooling :  both  are  deceived  to  such  a 
iegree,  that  they  become  even  incapable  of  finding  out  that  they  are 
defi-auded  of  time,  of  progi-ess,  of  hearing,  of  good  taste,  of  common 
sense. 

Before  entering  upon  the  analysis,  it  will  be  best  to  hear  a  wit- 
ness and  judge  on  the  common  way  of  spelling  and  on  Phonography, 
and  then  make  some  comments  on  his  remarks.  Rev.  Edw.  N.  Kirk 
ihus  writes  on  this  topic,  in  /.  Pitman^s  Phonotypic  Journal,  Feb. 
i845.  No.  38,  p.  45,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  S.  P.  Andrews,  the  distin- 
j^uished  phonographep. 

Boston,  July  17,  1844. 

Dear  Sir  : — I  promised  to  continue  my  remarks  on  the  merits  of  the 
Phonographic  Reform,  proposed  by  Mr.  Isaac  Pitman,  of  Bath.  As  at  pre- 
sent exhibited,  it  consists  of  two  branches — the  Phonographic  and  Phono- 
typic ;  the  former  being,  in  fact,  only  a  more  scientific  and  certain  system 
of  stenography  than  has  been  before  invented  ;  the  latter,  an  attempt  to 
change  the  orthography  of  the  English  language  (always,  of  course,  by  the 
good  will  of  writers,  printers,  and  purchasers).  Of  the  stenographic  bmnch 
little  need  here  be  said,  as  our  object  is  now  to  examine  the  more  iniport- 
oiQt  pretensions  of 

A  rectified  orthography,  founded  on  the  principle  of  making  each  letter  the 
unvarying  representative  of  one  sound. 

On  this  proposal,  several  questions  may  be  stated. 

1.  Should  each  sound  in  a  spoken  language  be  represented  by  on£  exclusive 
^i^n  ? 


EXGLTSTT  LANGUAGE.  48 

"We  would  answer  this  question  by  another  precisely  analo^ons ;  shall 
we  go  from  Boston  to  New-York  by  a  direct  road,  or  by  a  route;  wliich  takes 
in  the  White  Mountains  of  New-Hanipsliiro  ?  Now  the  answer  to  that 
question  must  depend  ui)()n  another;  —  what  is  tlie  ol)ject  aimed  at  in  trav- 
elling 1  If  it  is  merely  utilitarian,  or  in  other  words  to  be  in  New- York  in- 
stead of  Boston,  no  one  would  hesitate  to  answer.  But  if  it  be  to  fatigue 
as  many  horses  and  spend  as  much  money  by  the  way  as  you  can,  or  if  the 
mere  pleasure  of  travelling  and  not  the  getting  to  New-York  be  the  object, 
then  let  us  have  the  northern  route. 

The  present  English  alphabet  arose,  with  most  others,  from  the  Hebrew 
alphabet.  "We  have  no  means  of  determining  whether  this  expressed  all 
the  sounds  which  the  ancient  Israelites  employed  in  speech.  The  proba- 
bilities are  strong  that  the  physiology  of  speech  was  too  little  understood 
at  that  period  to  make  a  perfect  alphabet.  And  when  we  follow  the  streams 
of  written  and  spoken  language,  through  the  Semitic,  Greek  and  Latin  pe- 
riods, we  have  no  means  of  determining  their  adaptedness  to  one  another, 
because  the  latter  eludes  our  sight,  to  a  great  extent.  But,  supposing  the 
alphabet  in  its  earlier  stages  to  have  been  precisely  conformed  to  our  pre- 
sent conception  of  a  Normal  alphabet,  it  is  very  certain  that  at  present  it  is 
as  employed  to  represent  the  English  language,  the  most  anomalous  thing 
in  the  republic  of  letters.  "We  have  referred,  however,  to  the  history  of  our 
alphabet,  in  order  to  destroy  any  remnant  of  respect  it  may  receive  from 
either  a  supposed  sacredness  of  origin,  or  from  a  supposition  that  it  was  the 
result  of  the  wisdom  of  our  ancestors.  So  far  as  they  were  concerned,  we 
have  no  evidence  that  a  single  letter  was  introduced  or  dropped,  or  its  pow- 
er changed,  as  the  result  of  any  deliberation,  or  any  thorough  consideration 
of  the  rationale  of  an  alphabet.  On  the  contrary,  there  is  every  reason  to 
believe  that  the  pronunciation  and  the  writing  went  off  into  increasingly 
divergent  channels,  and  that  their  changes  were  not  made  in  reference  to 
adapting  the  one  to  the  other ;  so  that  we  have  now  reached  the  Dead  Sea 
of  Barbarism  in  written  language.  In  other  words,  no  reason  in  the  nature 
of  the  case  can  be  given  why  an  alphabet  should  not  be  a  definite  and  com- 
plete representation  to  the  eye,  of  the  sounds  which  address  the  ear.  Our 
ancestors  have  sent  us  down  something  the  very  opposite  of  this,  without  a 
single  reason  to  convince  us  that  it  should  be  so,  or  to  remove  our  convic- 
tions that  it  should  not  be  so. 

Our  second  inquiry  is  ; 

2.  Should  each  representative  of  a  sound  bear  the  name  of  that  sound  7 

We  see  no  reason  against  it,  but  an  obvious  reason  for  it,  so  far  as  it  is 
practicable.  That  reason  may  be  thus  stated  ;— if  the  power  and  name  of 
the  letter  be  identical,  then  the  instant  a  beginner  meets  the  letter  and 
sounds  its  name,  with  which  he  has  become  familiar,  he  has  no  second  pro- 
cess to  pass  through,  to  reach  the  power.  And  why  should  he  have,  any 
more  than  for  every  three  steps  forward,  we  should  take  one  backward  1 
There  are,  indeed,  some  letters,  such  as  the  mutes  and  semi-vowels,  which 
will  require  a  vocal  addition.    But  that  should  be  so  simple  and  uniform,  as 


46  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

to  diminish  to  the  last  degree  its  embarrassing  influence  in  passing  from 

the  name  to  the  power. 

3,  Should  we  change  the  present  orthography  of  tJie  English  language  7 

This  is  a  very  different  question  from  the  first,  although  involving  it ; 
for  we  might  believe  it  desirable  to  have  a  perfect  alphabet,  in  itself  con- 
sidered, and  undesirable,  all  things  considered.  This  point  may  not  have 
met  sufficient  attention  from  reformers.  A  tumor  on  the  body  is  pro- 
nounced a  tumor,  and  yet  it  might  be  better  to  live  with  it,  than  to  die  in 
the  process  of  excision.  In  order  to  bring  the  matter  fairly  before  us,  let 
us  imagine  that  we  were  now  commencing  de  novo  to  form  a  written  repre- 
sentation of  the  English  language,  because  every  one  is  convinced  that 
something  ought  to  be  done  in  the  matter.  Three  candidates  present  them- 
selves, with  their  respective  systems  before  a  committee  of  literary  men. 

The  first  recommends  that  we  retain  the  orthography  of  the  language, 
on  account  of  the  obviously  numerous  inconveniences,  which  must  result 
from  attempting  to  alter  it;  but  that  the  change  be  in  bringing  the  spoken 
language  to  correspond  with  the  written  language.  "  Nonsense,  nonsense  !" 
cries  out  the  whole  company  of  examiners.  '*  Nonsense,  nonsense !"  is 
echoed  in  thunder  from  the  eastward  of  the  "  disputed  territory,"  to  the 
westernmost  log  cabin  in  Texas.  And  if  any  one  doubts  the  absurdity  of 
the  proposal,  let  him  think  for  a  moment  of  bringing  all  the  terminal  oughs 
of  our  language  under  one  sound,  say  that  of  plough.  Then  a  man  has  a 
very  severe  cow  (cough),  and  as  if  that  was  not  eno%o  (enough),  the  trow 
(trough)  which  he  boivt  (bought)  for  the  dow  (dough)  was  so  row  (rough), 
and  left  the  bread  so  toic  (tough),  that  he  sowt  (sought)  tkrow  (through) 
the  whole  town.  But  his  pains  browt  (brought)  him  nowt  (nought)  but 
labor /row^  (fraught)  with  vexation,  against  which  he  fowl  (fought)  in  vain. 

Will  the  people  ever  talk  so  1  Never,  never.  That  candidate  may  then 
withdraw.  The  next  appears  and  offers  a  language  in  which,  out  of  50,000 
words,  49,950  are  spoken  one  way,  and  written  another;  and  in  which,  for 
forty  sounds,  there  are  26  visible  representatives ;  and  as  if  that  were  not 
absurd  enough,  three  of  these  characters  are  useless,  and  the  others  are 
used  in  the  most  unmeaning,  perplexing,  outlaw  manner  conceivable.  One 
poor  little  a  is  seen  sometimes  standing  perfectly  unnoticed  (as  in  broad), 
and  then  he  has  to  do  the  work  of  ah,  and  aw,  and  af ;  and  sometimes 
three  great  lounging  fellows,  ugh,  stand  by  his  side  doing  nothing,  as  in  our 
beautiful  word  slaughter.  "  Out,  out  with  such  barbarism,"  exclaims  each 
member  of  the  commission ;  but,  rejoins  the  reformer,  the  very  same  ob- 
jection lies  against  the  language  you  are  now  employing.  Admitted,  they 
say ;  but  that  is  only  on  account  of  the  great  difficulties  in  the  w^ay  of 
effecting  a  change. 

Now  that  is  just  the  admission  we  want.  And  believing  it  to  be  all  that 
can  be  said  in  favor  of  our  present  written  language,  we  pass  to  consider 
the  claims  of  the  third  candidate.  He  says  that,  deeming  it  a  hundred-fold 
easier  for  literary  men  to  change  the  written  than  the  spoken  language; 
and  believing  that  changes  in  pronunciation  must  be  gradually  taking  place 


KNGLISH  LANGUAGE.  47 

in  every  language  by  the  influence  of  physical  and  moral  causes ;  and  far- 
ther believing  that  immense  advantages  would  result  from  having  the  writ- 
ten and  spoken  languages  exact  representatives  of  one  another,  he  proposes 
to  the  learned  commission  to  form  an  alphabet  in  which  one  sign  should 
stand  the  sole  representative  of  each  sound,  and  that  so  far  as  may  be,  the 
sound  be  the  only  name  of  the  sign. 

The  commission  then  asks  for  the  advantages  of  his  system,  which  he 
states  as  follows  : — 

Advantages  op   substituting  a  purely   representative   Alphabet  and 
Orthography. 

1.  As  an  enterprise  of  philunthropy,  its  benefits  will  be  experienced  in 
many  ways  and  by  many  classes.  We  are  now  legislating  for  unborn  millions, 
and  deciding  the  question  whether  they  shall  be  subjected  to  walk  into  the 
temple  of  knowledge  while  their  feet  are  yet  tender,  over  rough  rocks, 
broken  glass,  and  bogs,  because  we  enjoyed  that  discipline ;  or  whether 
they  may  go  in  a  plain,  straight,  smooth  path  into  the  art  and  mystery  of 
reading.  I  have  no  desire  to  diminish  any  portion  of  mental  exercise  which 
goes  to  mature  the  faculties;  but  I  seriously  believe  that  the  human  mind  is 
retarded  in  its  progress  by  the  barbarous  treatment  to  which  it  is  subjected 
in  the  first  steps  of  acquiring  knowledge.  The  mechanical  process  of  learn- 
ing to  read  ought  to  be  made  as  easy  as  possible  to  the  tender  mind  of  a 
child  ;  let  the  work  of  mental  discipline  by  grappling  with  crooked  things, 
and  contradictory  things,  and  false  things,  come  later,  if  it  must  ever  come. 
If  there  be  any  advantage  to  us  in  possessing  the  ability  to  read,  then  it 
would  be  advantageous  to  all  that  have  not  that  attainment  to  acquire  it. 
And  he  who  diminishes  the  difficulties  of  making  that  attainment  is,  to 
many,  virtually  a  second  inventor  of  the  press.  There  are  millions  who 
now  stand  just  in  that  position,  that  if  things  continue  as  they  are,  they  will 
never  learn  to  read ;  but  if  a  simpler,  readier  process  be  universally  intro- 
duced in  their  day,  will  make  this  attainment.  An  adult  of  ordinary  mem- 
ory could  learn  to  attach  the  proper  sound  to  each  sign  so  as  never  to  forget 
it,  (calculating  the  time  consumed  in  repeating  and  combining  it  with  other 
sounds)  in  ten  minutes.  So  that  if  there  are  GO  sounds  in  all  the  written 
languages  of  the  earth,  and  he  could  pronounce  them  all, — in  ten  hours  he 
could  learn  to  read,  that  is  pronounce  the  words  of  any  language  in  the 
world,  if  printed  phonographically.  This  is  sober  truth.  And  not  to  press 
it  into  what  some  may  deem  the  regions  of  extravagance,  in  seven  hours 
an  adult  of  ordinary  memory  could  learn  to  read  a  phonographically  print- 
ed book  in  the  English  tongue.  This  fact  ought  to  arrest  the  attention  of 
philanthropists,  of  missionaries,  of  the  teachers  of  emancipated  slaves,  and 
others  similarly  employed.  I  say  unqualifiedlj"  that  he  who  publishes  a 
good  book  in  phonotype,  and  teaches  the  now  uneducated  class  to  read  it, 
is  a  public  benefactor,  even  if  it  is  never  adopted  by  the  higher  classes. 
Suppose  that  book  to  be  the  Bible,  and  let  it  and  the  phonetic  schoolmas- 
ter go  through  the  middle,  southern,  and  south-western  states  of  this  large 


48  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

country,  amid  our  own  uneducated  population  and  the  uneducated  emi- 
grants, and  he  will  dean  immeasurable  good. 

It  has  likewise  important  bearings  upon  that  increased  acquaintance 
with  each  other  by  the  nations  of  the  earth,  which  is  to  promote  the  char- 
ity, and  diminish  the  hostility  and  cruelty  of  the  human  race.  Suppose 
the  facility  of  acquiring  the  English  language  thus  diminished  to  foreign- 
ers, what  stores  of  moral  and  religious  instruction  (such  are  found  in  no 
other  language)  would  be  opened  so  much  more  fully  to  them !  It  must 
not,  however,  be  supposed  that  in  presenting  this  consideration  we  over- 
look the  fact  that,  enabling  a  foreigner  merely  to  read  our  language  is  not 
doing  as  much  for  him  as  it  is  for  a  native.  In  the  case  of  the  former  we 
only  facilitate  his  acquisition  of  the  language ;  but  for  the  latter  we  effec- 
tually break  down  a  barrier  by  which  the  mind  has  been  kept  from  com- 
muning with  the  writers  of  his  own  tongue. 

2.  It  will  promote  the  interests  of  orthc&py  and  orthography. 

Let  any  one  take  up  our  authors  from  Wycliffe  and  Chaucer  to  the 
North  American  Review  or  New  Englander,  and  our  lexicographers  from 
Bailey  and  Dyche  down  to  Webster  and  Neander,  and  see  the  glorious 
uncertainty  of  orthography,  deserving  to  be  as  proverbial  as  that  of  the 
law.  Now  I  do  not  imagine  that  there  is  any  competent  tribunal  to  de- 
termine the  disputed  points,  or  to  secure  a  fixed  standard  of  spelling  or 
pronunciation,  yet  much  might  be  done.  As  the  causes  which  go  to  change 
the  spelling  and  sound  of  words  are  real  and  definite,  and  as  some  of  these 
alterations  are  improvements,  and  others  are  signs  of  degeneracy,  nothing  can 
have  a  greater  tendency  to  keep  these  changes  under  the  eyes  of  all  who 
read  the  language,  than  to  commence  turning  every  one's  attention  to  the 
delicate  shades  of  sound  (now  generally  overlooked)  in  almost  every  word, 
and  reducing  pronunciation  to  so  definite  a  visible  expression,  that  no 
change  of  pronunciation  can  steal  into  a  district  without  alarming  the 
whole  country  at  once  ]3y  its  exposure  on  the  printed  page.  For,  it  must 
be  observed  that  then  every  one  will  write  a  word  just  as  he  pronounces 
it.  These  remarks,  however,  do  not  apply  to  our  equally  whimsical  accents, 
because  no  provision  is  made  in  this  system  for  introducing  them  into  any 
other  books  than  spelling-books  and  lexicons. 

3.  Its  introduction  will  be  afiother  triumph  of  the  genuine  spirit  of  reforma- 
tion. 

To  get  rid  of  a  practical  absurdity  is  always  in  itself  desirable.  The 
importance  of  the  reformation  increases  as  the  evil  is  widely  spread,  and 
affects  the  great  interests  of  society.  When  such  an  evil  is  removed  with- 
out disturbing  any  other  great  interest  of  society,  more  is  accomplished 
than  merely  the  removal  of  that  one  evil.  There  is  given  a  new  evidence 
of  the  recuperative  element  which  God  has  placed  in  human  society  like 
that  which  he  has  placed  in  the  human  body.  There  will  be  fresh  en- 
couragement to  the  friends  of  man ;  and  a  model  will  be  furnished  for 
the  rectifying  of  other  abuses.  Now,  that  the  English  language  needs 
such  a  reformation,  we  suppose  to  have  been  obvious  for  many  yeats.    So 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  49^ 

far  as  I  know,  it  is  the  most  anomalous  and  reckless  in  its  pronunciation 
of  any  livino^  language.  Like  Sir  John  Moore,  it  is  there  "alone  in  its 
glory."  And  the  mode  of  conducting  this  reformation  is  precisely  what  it 
should  be.  By  fair  and  kind  and  courteous  discussion  it  seeks  to  convince, 
it  courts  inspection,  it  works  and  waits  for  society  to  be  ready  for  its 
adoption.  There  is  perhaps  no  force  in  the  consideration,  but  it  does 
somewhat  impress  me,  that  there  may  be  some  demoralizing  influence  in 
the  practice  of  calling  a  letter  by  a  sound,  and  then  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases  where  it  is  used,  contradicting  this  very  instruction.  Does  it  not 
tend  to  destroy  a  child's  confidence  in  the  veracity  of  a  teacher,  or  at  least 
in  the  truth  of  things  1  The  little  creature  has  strained  his  optic  muscles 
to  observe  the  peculiar  form  of  the  letter  c  for  example.  For,  it  will  be 
remembered  that  concentrated  attention  to  form  that  comparison  and 
discrimination  are  the  result  of  a  strong  and  continuous  voluntary  eflTort. 
Now  when  he  has  reached  the  point  of  marking  that  o  "  goes  clear  round," 
but  that  c  "  stops,"  and  that  this  has  the  hissing  sound,  and  then  comes 
to  apply  his  knowledge,  and  with  great  delight  for  the  first  time  makes  a 
combination  of  it  with  ap  (an  old  acquaintance  it  may  be),  and  cries  out 
c.  a,  p,  sap ;  what  is  his  mortification  to  be  told,  "  no  ;  c,  a,  p,  kapT  But 
if  we  have  not  refined  too  far,  mortification  is  the  least  evil  result.  His 
trustfulness  receives  a  shock,  and  he  puts  his  mind  into  this  attitude  ;  now 
when  I  am  told  fhat  c  is  sea,  I  will  not  believe  it,  I  will  believe  that  it  is 
Icee.  But  not  to  insist  on  this,  it  seems  to  us  there  will  be  a  truthfulness 
and  simplicity  in  the  Phonographic  system,  which  w^e  should  love  to  see 
supplant  the  present  awkward,  cruel,  false  creature  who  stands  janitor  at 
the  door  of  knowledge,  and  who  gives  to  children  some  of  their  first  asso- 
ciations with  science. 

4.  It  will  promote  the  interests  of  scie7ice,  and  general  knowledge  and  Chris- 
tian benevolence. 

Every  thing  which  diminishes  the  consumption  of  time,  strength,  and 
money,  in  recording  and  publishing  the  results  of  mental  eftbrt.  must  ad- 
vance the  great  interests  just  named.  Look,  then,  at  the  chirographic  de- 
partment of  this  art.  It  has  secured  what  no  system  of  Brachygraphy  ever 
before  secured,  extreme  brevity  with  complete  legibility. — The  lawyer,  the 
merchant,  the  preacher,  the  author,  the  editor,  the  reporter,  can  save  five- 
sixths  of  their  time  now  devoted  to  writing.  A  simple  illustration  may 
show  the  importance  of  this.  We  and  all  European  nations  are  now  em- 
ploying a  system  of  stenography.  Snppose  we  should  abandon  it,  and  go 
back  to  writing  in  our  own  language  what  we  now  express  in  characters 
borrowed  from  the  Arabs.  For  instance,  take  the  sentence,  '-The  twenty- 
eighth  of  May,  eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-ei^ht,  received  eight  million, 
nine  hundred  and  forty-seven  thousand,  five  hundred  and  seventy-seven 
pounds  of  cotton."  Now  we  express  it  thus : — "  May  28,  1838,  received 
8,947,577  lbs.  cotton."  Here  is  the  difference  between  36  downward  strokes 
of  the  pen,  and  145.  Suppose  one  merchant  writing  out  every  word  as  in 
the  first  specimen  here,  for  ten  hours  a  day,  and  another  employing  the  Ara- 


50  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

bic  and  short  hand ;  not  only  will  the  other  save  seven  hours  and  a  half, 
but  when  his  work  is  done  it  will  be  more  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  a  hun- 
dred-fold easier  to  examine.  But  the  short  hand  connected  with  this  sys- 
tem saves  still  more  time  and  labor  than  the  Arabic  figures,  by  which  we 
express  sums  and  quantities.  Already,  thousands  of  letters  are  written  in 
this  character  in  England.  But  perhaps  no  profession  should  welcome  it 
more  cordially  than  the  clergy.  Many  a  constitution  might  have  been  pre- 
served to  a  good  age,  that  now  lies  in  a  premature  grave,  if  the  body  had 
not  been  chained  so  many  hours  every  week  to  that  fatal  writing  desk. 
Orators  and  reporters  should  equally  hail  it.  for  it  will  save  the  one  from 
the  vexation  of  being  misrepresented,  and  the  other  from  misrepresenting. 
Some  of  the  finest  effusions  of  oratory  have  been  extempore,  and  are  lost 
for  ever,  for  want  of  a  phonetic  system  of  sufficient  brevity  to  admit  of  its 
being  written  as  rapidly  as  a  language  is  spoken,  and  yet  so  definite  and 
accurate  as  to  require  no  dependence  upon  the  memory.  Such  Mr.  Pitman's 
stenography  appears  to  be. 

But  not  to  dwell  upon  this  branch  which  is  not  so  much  to  our  present 
purpose,  we  would  refer  to  the  immense  saving  in  press-work.  It  is  said 
to  be  one-fourth.  See  the  bearings  of  this  on  the  operations  of  the  Bible 
and  Tract  Societies.  Every  ^6100,000  becomes  in  value  i:130,000  and  upwards. 
But  a  still  higher,  though  remoter,  advantage  is,  that  it  is  the  first  efficient 
step  towards  a  universal  alphabet.  Such  a  thing  is  feasMe,  for  it  exists 
now  in  music  and  mathematics.  And  it  is  of  great  moment.  Perhaps  in 
twenty  years  there  may  be  a  congress  of  nations,  not  to  map  out  empires 
and  appoint  masters  for  the  world,  but  to  adopt  uniform  visible  representa- 
tives for  all  the  spoken  languages  of  the  world.  Then  one  mighty  barrier 
between  the  members  of  the  human  family  will  be  removed,  and  the  acqui- 
sition of  languages  be  greatly  facilitated.  Then  the  missionaries  who  are  re- 
ducing the  languages  of  barbarous  nations  to  a  written  form,  will  have  a 
uniform  standard  which  will  aid  and  not  retard  the  progress  of  civilization. 

But  to  all  this  it  may  be  replied,  that  the  confusion  would  be  insupport- 
able if  the  proposed  change  were  now  introduced.  I  would  reply,  that  if 
the  good  of  the  whole  is  to  govern  us,  that  consideration  can  soon  be  dis- 
posed of,  at  least  in  theory.  We  have  only  to  compare  the  confusion  of 
the  hundreds  that  now  read,  with  that  of  the  millions  who  are  to  learn  to 
read.  If  the  present  generation  of  readers  will  consent  to  perplex  them- 
selves so  much  as  to  learn  a  new  alphabet,  it  will  save  all  that  are  to  follow 
us  the  perplexity  of  learning  and  of  their  unlearning,  as  our  present  alpha- 
bet renders  necessary. 

Whether  this  change  will  be  brought  about,  none  is  competent  to  say  ; 
or,  if  it  shall  be  accomplished,  whether  it  will  be  in  this  generation,  de- 
pends upon  many  things  wliich  we  do  not  and  cannot  know.  If  the  pres- 
sure upon  our  sense  of  absurdity  and  upon  our  philanthropy  is  stronger 
than  the  love  of  ease  and  of  what  is,  then  it  will  gladden  our  day. 

How  shall  the  change  be  effected  1 — "  that's  the  question." 

Your  obedient  servant,  Edward  N.  Kirk. 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  51 

With  tlie  view  of  putting  the  subject  matter  in  a  proper  light, 
the  above  letter  has  been  inserted :  on  account  both  of  its  embodying 
one  of  the  remedies  proposed  by  I.  Pitman,  and  of  the  opinions  on 
Phonography,  entertained  by  the  votaries  of  the  old  abuse,  as  well  as 
by  those  who  feel  a  necessity  of  a  reform,  without  knowing  its  direc- 
tion and  extent.  Before  commenting  on  the  merits  of  Pitman's  sys- 
tem, and  before  proposing  a  remedy  to  the  evil,  it  may  be  useful  to 
exhibit,  yet  more  palpably,  the  enormities  complained  of. 

Let  us  analyze  the  following  sentence : 

The  light  of  knowledge  is  better  than  the  glare  of  gold  =  45  letters ; 

0i  Idit  of  noledz'  is  better  ^dn  ^i  gler  of  gdld  =  37  sounds.* 

The  Panacea  of  English  elementary  education  follows,  in  its  own  glori- 
ous way  of  spelling  : 

^Tea-aitch-ee  El-eye-dzhee-aitch-tea  O-ef  Ka-en-6-double-you-el-ee-dee-dzhee- 
ee  Eye-es  Bea-ee-tea-tea-ee-are  Tea-aitch-a-en  Tea-aitch-ee  Dzhee-el-ai-are-ee  O- 
ef  Dzhee-6-el-dea  =  130  letters  (which  if  again  spelt  in  the  same  way,  needs 
about  400  letters  to  write  it  out. — For  what  end  1  To  arrive  finally  at  the 
elements  1 — Oh  no! — To  go  on,  ad  infinitum,  into  more  and  more  darkness 
and  confusion). 

Count  now  the  simple  sounds  occurring  in  this  mode  of  spelling,  and 
you  will  find  them  to  amount  to  83  (i.  e.  written  according  to  the  laws  of 
arithmetic  and  acoustics). — Neither  the  letters,  as  visible  elements,  nor  the 
sounds  as  audible  elements,  are  even  so  much  as  enumerated ; — nay,  not 
even  a  hint  is  ever  made  that  they  could,  should  and  ought  to  be  counted : 
yet  the  child  is  made  to  believe  that  he  is  studying  the  Elements !  So 
much  for  the  first  falsehood  in  this  Ahrimanic  paradise  !  The  spelling 
puts  into  that  sentence  20  i  (i.  e.  long  Italian  i-s  when  there  is  absolutely 
none!),  9  t  (when  there  are  but  3),  9  e  (only  three  such  sounds),  6  e  (only 
1  really).  5  ^  (2  in  reality),  4  z^  (1  in  nature)  4  (J  (1  in  truth),  4  5'  (none  at 
all),  2  a  (1),  2  d  (none),  1  k  (none),  1  H  (none)  =55  sounds  used  in  spell- 
ing, which  do  not  exist  in  the  sentence  =  as  many  falsehoods.  The  only 
sounds  that  are  in  the  sentence^  and  are  put  into  it  by  the  spelling,  are  Z,  /, 
n,  s,  b,  r,  d.  The  slender  i  of  the  the,  the  lisped  ,&  of  the  same  the,  and  the 
two  (hard)  g  are  not  even  sounded.  Nothing,  moreover,  is  said  of  the  k, 
of  the  -gh-,  -w-,  of  the  final  -e,  as  being  silent,  etc.  The  anatomy  of  dead 
animal  bodies  is  disgusting,  sickening,  life-endangering ;  although  the  har- 
mony in  all  their  parts  lead  us  to  knowledge  and  to  the  admiration  of  God's 
works.  But  the  analysis  of  the  so-called  spelling  affords  nothing  but  disa- 
greeable impressions,  leading  one  almost  to  doubt,  whether  millions  of  the 

*  It  is  impossible  to  disentangle  the  Gordian  knot,  without  making  some 
incisions  before  giving  it  the  coup-de-gra.ce.  The  proper  sounds  are  here 
anticipated :  the  vowels  are  sounded  as  in  Italian,  Spanish,  s'  like  sh,  z'  like 
'Z-  in  glazier,  the  Greek  ©,  3-  like  th  in  the.  (See  below  Sounds  and  Letters). 


52  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

most  civilized  men  have  really  common  sense.  No  wonder  that  such  spell- 
bound men  patronize  astrologers  (La  Roy  Sunderland,  Dr.  Roback),  mental 
alchymists,  mysterious  rappers,  phreno-mnemoteclmians;  that  they  get  be- 
side themselves  at  the  trills  of  featherless  nightingales,  larks,  swans,  at 
entrechat-makers,  a.  s.  f  ;  that  they  swallow  all  kinds  of  juleps,  pills, 
syrups,  panaceas,  etc.,  of  fashionable  Tofanas,  Cagliostros,  St.  Germains. 

"  .  .  .  .  Stulta  est  dementia,  cum  tot  ubique 
Vatibus  occurras,  peritura)  parcere  chartae." — Juven.  S.  I.  v.  17, 18. 

"  Difficile  est  Satiram  non  scribere." — Ibid.  v.  30. 

Let  us  now  recapitulate  the  numbers  45,  37,  130,  83,  which  have  resulted 
from  our  inquiries.  In  what  natural  relation  do  they  stand,  each  to  all 
others  1  Let  us  add  to  the  inevitable  fermentation,  that  must  be  excited 
by  these  incongruities  in  the  brain  of  the  child,  the  instinctive  perception 
by  him  that  he  is  imposed  upon,  in  some  way  unaccountable  to  himself; 
and  let  us  ask  ourselves  what  will  be  the  effect  of  the  yeast,  thus  produced, 
upon  the  mental  and  moral  faculties  of  the  poor  creature  1 — Let  us  ponder 
upon  the  inevitable  consequences,  both  positive  and  negative,  of  these  pro- 
ceedings, carried  on  against  all  that  is  simple,  chaste,  innocent,  true,  beau- 
tiful, natural,  pleasant,  graceful,  just,  in  the  soul  of  childhood  ;  and  let  us 
consider,  at  the  same  time,  that  those  atrocities  are  being  performed,  con 
gusto  ed  amore^  against  millions  of  children  ....  But  enough  ! 

Mr.  I.  Pitman's  Phonography  is,  certainly,  the  best  substitute  for 
Stenogi'aphy,  or  short-hand.  His  merits,  as  an  expositor  of  the  ab- 
surdities and  baneful  influences  of  the  English  so-called  orthogra- 
phy, and  as  a  teacher  of  proper  enunciation,  as  well  as  of  a  reasonable 
analysis  of  the  sounds  of  the  English  and  of  some  other  languages, 
— cannot  be  sufficiently  appreciated  or  remunerated.  He  is  a  bene- 
factor to  the  nations  whose  mother  tongue  is  the  English  ;  and  it  is 
really  painful  to  look  at  the  sad  appearance  of  the  picture,  which  he  ex- 
hibits with  consummate  skill,  indefatigable  diligence  and  honest  zeal. 
Yet  there  is  too  much  at  stake  in  his  proposed  reform,  to  command 
an  unqualified  and  illimited  acceptance  of  the  same.  Were  this  done, 
the  English  language  and,  consequently,  the  nations  speaking  it,  would 
lose  incomparably  more  than  they  would  gain.  They  would  set  their 
language  adrift  on  a  boundless  ocean  of  confusion  of  every  kind ; 
they  would  deprive  it  of  just  those  parts  which  are  most  significant 
and  most  nervous ;  they  would  cut  it  from  the  moonngs  by  which  it 
is  being  held  fast  to  the  deep, — (let  us  not  hesitate  in  saying  it) — di- 
vine harmony,  that  has  been  attempted  to  be  shown  to  exist  in 
human  speech  (see  Chap.  L)  ;  they  would  return  to  that  condition, 


I 


KKGLISH  LANGUAGE.  53 

with  regard  to  the  tongues  of  other  nations,  which  gave  birth  to  the 
expression,  "  divisi  orhe  Britannia  In  other  words,  the  etynia  (see 
the  Chaptei-s  on  Sounds  and  Roots)  of  this  admirable  Enghsh  lan- 
guage would  be  irreparably  blurred.  To  scrape  off  the  amalgam, 
which  makes  miri'oi's  of  plain  glass,  is  not  cleaning  them ;  to  scour  the 
alimentary  canal  of  animals  from  all  the  substances  necessary  to  its 
functions,  is  not  curing  them  from  diseases  of  the  same.  It  amounts 
to  killing. 

With  due  diffidence  in  his  attainments,  but  in  the  conviction  that 
a  cure  is  possible,  without  killing  the  patient  or  rendering  him  still 
more  sick  than  he  really  is,  the  writer  proposes  the  following 


First  as  to  the  Latin  (see  p.  18).  In  order  to  render  the  present 
suggestion  more  acceptable,  the  author  gives  here  the  views  of  the 
same  highly  accomplished  writer,  whose  authority  has  been  already 
used  on  page  15  (North  Amer.  Review,  April,  1849,  Art.  viii). 

"The  difficulty  of  making  this  change  (see  below  on  the  pronunciation 
of  Latin)  is  not  so  great  as  it  might  be  thought,  even  to  those  who  have 
for  years  accustomed  themselves  to  a  false  pronunciation.  The  reading  of 
Latin  aloud,  correctly,  an  hour  or  two  a  day,  for  a  few  weeks,  will  be  quite 
sufficient  to  banish  the  old  method  from  our  regard.  The  true  sounds 
are  so  harmonious  in  themselves,  and  so  consistent  with  the  genius  and 
structure  of  the  language,  that  they  recommend  themselves  at  once,  both 
to  the  ear  and  to  the  judgment.  As  they  become  familiar,  we  feel,  for  the 
first  time,  the  dignity  of  Roman  eloquence,  the  melody  of  ancient  verse. 
It  is  as  if  a  shrivelled  mummy  had  suddenly  started  into  life  and  vigor, 
and  reindued  itself  with  the  bloom  and  charm  of  youth  ....  If  it  be  de- 
sirable that  such  a  number  of  years,  and  these  taken  from  the  first  period 
of  life,  most  valuable  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  should  be  devoted 
to  the  study  of  the  ancient  languages,  it  is  surely  desirable  that,  in  com- 
pensation of  all  this  toil,  at  least,  a  knowledge  of  these  languages  should 
be  acquired.  There  is  no  branch  of  education  which  stands  in  greater 
need  of  the  quickening  touch  of  reform,  than  the  study  of  the  ancient  lan- 
guages. It  is  freely  allowed,  that,  notwithstanding  the  disproportionate 
amount  of  time  bestowed  on  the  study  of  Latin,  very  few  Latin  scholars  are 
formed.  Yet  the  language  itself,  certainly,  presents  no  greater  difficulties 
now,  than  when  it  was  readily  spoken  and  written  by  all  educated  persons; 
nor  is  there  any  good  reason  why  it  should  be  a  harder  task  to  us  even, 
than  it  is  to  the  Germans  of  the  present  time.  The  unsatisfactory  result  of 
our  efforts  is  then  to  be  attributed  to  the  erroneous  system  of  instruction. 
Nothing,  it  must  be  allowed,  can  be  more  wearisome  or  pedantic,  than 


54  f -^        ENGLISH  LANGtJAGE. 

this  system ;  nothing  could  be  better  adapted"  to  disgust  the  learner  with 
the  study,  before  he  reaches  an  age  at  which  he  could  judge  of  its  import- 
ance. Children  of  tender  years  are  required  to  oppress  their  memories  with 
grammatical  rules  and  disquisitions,  which  would  tax  severely  a  mature 
intellect.  These  are  so  obscurely,  often  so  inaccurately  worded,  that  they 
are  intelligible  only  when  read  by  the  light  of  a  previous  knowledge  of  the 
facts  they  pretend  to  expound.  Many  of  these  rules,  when  disrobed  of 
their  cumbrous  phraseology,  appear  mere  truisms  ;  they  are  in  many  cases 
so  trivial,  so  often  resting  on  no  other  foundation  than  the  whim  of  some 
ancient  pedant,  that  they  make  us  realize  fully  the  good  sense  of  Quintil- 
ian's  assertion,  that  it  is  one  of  the  first  requisites  of  a  grammarian  to 
know  that  there  are  things  ithich  are  not  worth  knowiiig.  There  is  no  reason 
except  the  unnatural  manner  in  which  they  are  taught,  that  the  ancient 
languages  should  be  so  much  more  difficult  of  acquirement  than  the  mod- 
ern. On  the  contrary,  as  they  are  more  regular,  more  complete  in  their 
grammatical  forms,  and  no  longer  subject  to  the  empire  of  caprice,  a  know- 
ledge of  them  may  be  acquired  with  greater  ease  and  certainty.  These 
languages  are  not  dead ;  or,  if  dead,  yet  so  choicely  embalmed,  that  they 
miss  of  life  only  the  power  of  growth  and  the  chances  of  decay. — Reform 
in  matters  connected  with  teaching,  and  especially  the  teaching  of  the  an- 
cient languages,  has  been  impeded  in  this  country  by  the  superstitious  def- 
erence we  pay  to  the  practice  of  the  English  universities,  to  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  look  as  to  the  well-heads  of  learning. — Dr.  Foster,  whose 
scholarship  has  reflected  honor  on  the  Alma  Mater,  speaks  thus  of  the 
Academice  authorUas  :  '  Although  the  name  of  a  university  be  weighty  and 
venerable,  yet,  when  we  consider  it  as  consisting  of  fallible  individuals,  it 
greatly  abates  of  that  awe  its  name  might  otherwise  inspire.' 

"  We  make  no  quarrel  with  a  respect  for  things  old  and  established ;  nor 
would  we  willingly  see  lessened  that  love  and  reverence  with  which  our 
transplanted  England  turns  to  her  older  home.  But  the  European  England 
of  the  19th  century  has  no  more  claim  to  this  title  of  "  the  Old,"  than  ours 
of  the  Western  world.  The  relation  in  which  these  countries  stand  to  one 
another,  is  not  that  of  parent  and  child,  but  that  of  brother  to  brother- 
It  is  for  each  to  give  and  take  mutual  example  of  zeal  for  the  cause  of 
truth  and  progress ;  it  is  for  neither  to  form  itself  slavishly  by  the  other. 
Let,  rather,  both  turn  to  that  venerable  England,  whose  children  we,  as 
they,  truly  are,  and  among  whose  sons  we  may  find  men  on  whose  pattern 
it  might,  indeed,  not  misbecome  us  to  model  ourselves ;  men  who  looked  to 
right,  and  not  to  custom  ;  who  sought  for  truth,  and  did  not  ask  for  author- 
ity."—Mrs.  M.  L.  P. 

The  advantages  resulting  from  a  con-ect  pronunciation  of  Latin 
are  incalculable.  To  the  reasons  already  given  for  treating  it  here,  in 
connexion  with  the  English,  many  other  weighty  ones  might  be  add- 
ed.    The  history,  literature,  junsprudence,  and  pohtical  as  well  as 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE/ 

social  influence  of  the  Romans,  whose  language  it  was ;  the  intrinsic 
value  of  its  lexic  and  grammatic  stores,  together  with  its  strength  and 
the  majestic  proportions  of  its  structure  ;  its  intercompenetration  with 
all  the  languages  of  all  civilized  nations,  in  connexion  with  its  exten- 
sion among  all  persons  of  culture  all  over  the  globe ;  the  use  which 
is  made  of  it,  even  now-a-days,  in  many  most  valuable  scientific  works, 
not  only  as  of  a  quarry  of  terms,  but  also  as  of  a  vehicle  of  thoughts; 
—all  these  render  the  Latin  The  Language  pre-eminent  above  all 
others.  None  who  desire  to  become  such  proficients  in  letters,  sci- 
ences, arts,  or  in  pubhc  life,  as  their  natural  capacities  might  allow 
them,  can  neglect  it  altogether,  without  impunity. 

Let  it,  therefore,  be  made  the  flying-wheel,  so  to  say,  the  balance, 
the  escapement  of  the  Europseo- American  languages,  by  which  they 
can  be  guarded,  on  one  side,  against  barbarification,  and  on  the  other, 
against  running  themselves  down  and  thus  endangering  the  whole- 
ness of  their  limbs  and  the  soundness  of  their  genius,  by  empiric  would- 
be  improvements.  Examples  of  recrudescence  into  barbarism  are 
abundant  in  our  languages.  Thus  French  :  quatre-vingt-dix-sept  (four- 
twenty-ten-seven)  for  neuvante-sept  (ninety-seven),  aujourd'  hui  (on 
the  day  of  to-day)  for  hui  (Jwdie,  Span.  7ioy,  Germ,  heute),  etc. 

Secondly  as  to  English.  Without  adopting  the  life-endangering 
recommendation  of  Phonographers  for  such  languages  as  the  Eng- 
lish and  French,  we  must  avail  oui-selves  of  all  that  is  good  in 
their  suggestions.  Every  language  ought  to  be  WTitten  in  harmony 
with  its  sounds,  as  the  Sanscrit,  Hebrew,  Arabic,  Greek,  Latin,  Ar- 
menian, Russian,  and  some  others  were,  or  are  yet  written.  The 
German,  Magyar,  Turkish,  and  some  others,  hold  the  middle  between 
such  and  the  out-laws  against  harmony  between  the  sounds  and  let- 
ters. Phonography  is  no  new  invention,  nor  a  discovery.  But  lan- 
guages whose  graphy  has  either  originally  been  more  or  less  discrep- 
ant from  their  phony  (allow  this  term  to  pass),  or  has  become  so  from 
various  causes,  and  which  are  now^,  certainly,  written  better  than  they 
are  pronounced : — such  languages  cannot  now  be  written  just  so  as 
they  are  pronounced,  unless  they  prepare  themselves,  by  so  doing,  to 
descend  into  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets.  The  English  and  French, 
above  all  others,  are  in  this  sad  predicament.  They  have  but  the 
choice  between  annihilation,  if  they  should  resort  altogether  to  pho- 
nogTaphy,  and  the  following  stricture  of  Volney  :  "  It  is  impossible, 


N 


56  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

in  passing  in  review  the  different  alphabets  of  Europe,  to  see  without 
surprise,  that  nations  proud  of  their  progress  in  the  sciences  and  arts, 
have  remained  so  far  behind  in  the  most  elementary  science  of  all, 
the  science,  indeed,  which  serves  as  the  base  of  this  vast,  comphcated 
edifice  of  civilization.  The  alphabetic  methods  of  our  Europe  are 
true  cancatures.  Irregularities,  incoherences,  deficiencies,  redundancies 
appear  in  the  Spanish  and  Italian  alphabets,  in  the  German,  Polish, 
and  the  Dutch  ;  as  for  those  of  the  French  and  English,  they  are 
disorder  itself." 

What  is  then  to  be  done  ? 

Answer.  Keep, — on  the  whole, — the  present  graphy  (or  mode 
of  writing), — hut  abandon  altogether,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  what 
you  are  accustomed  to  call  and  believe  to  be  SPELLING.  Learn 
to  SPELL  in  the  true  sense  of  this  word,  i.  e.,  to  analyze  your  words 
in  two  ways,  viz. :  1 .  in  to  the  sounds  they  consist  of,  as  now  pro- 
nounced  {really,  mostly  mispronounced),  according  to  the  laws  of 
acoustics,  or,  if  you  please,  according  to  Pitman's  method,  and  2.  into 
the  letters  with  which  the  words  are  (mostly  correctly)  written. 

A  shout  is  heard  from  New  Zealand  to  California,  from  the  Shet- 
lands  to  St.  Helena  :  What  ?  Do  Two  things  instead  of  One  !  Two 
kinds  of  spelling  ? — We  have  already  too  much  of  One ! — Answer. 
Yes,  indeed,  you  have  too  much  of  One. — But  two  things  are  often 
less  than  one  and  still  better  than  one ;  such  is  the  case  here.  You 
beheve  spelling  to  b|3  the  Panacea  against  all  evils  that  the  mind  is 
heir  to  ;  now  you  have  two  real  bona  fide  panaceas,  instead  of  that 
mind-ear-and-tongue-sprawling  thing,  which  your  schoolmastei's  im- 
pose upon  you,  under  that  very  name.  For,  to  spell  is  NOT  what 
even  Noah  Webster  teaches  you  (i.  e.,  to  tell  or  name  the  lettei*s  of 
a  word  ;  to  write  with  the  proper  letters ;  to  form  words  by  correct 
or^Aograpliy)  nor  what  French  lexicographers  call  epeller  (i.  e.,  to  call 
out ;  another  form  of  appeller) :  but  it  is  and  means  nothing  else 
than  to  split,  i.  e.,  to  separate,  to  sever  (==&-  separative  and  pull,  or 
Lat.  pell-o,  vell-o),  in  other  words  to  pull  asunder,  to  analyze.  Now; 
when  you  say  aitch-a-tea,  meaning  hat,  you  certainly  do  not  analyze 
this  word,  because  you  put  into  it  what  is  not  in  it;  whereas  the  word 
is  nothing  but  what  it  is,  i.  e.,  a  compound  of  the  three  sounds  which 
are  perfectly  represented  by  its  three  lettei-s.  Were  you  to  spell  hat 
in  the  proper  way,  the  two  proposed  correct  speUings  would  coincide 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  67 

into  a  single  one.  In  the  best  Anglo-Saxon  words,  now  within  the 
English  language,  this  coincidence  is  predominant,  i.  e.,  the  best  Eng- 
lish words  are  just  so  written  as  they  are  pronounced  : — provided  we 
do  really  spell  as  reasonable  beings,  and  not  as  moon-ridden  scholars. 
Spelling  is  ^  ulgarly  taken  for  wnting,  i.  e.,  instead  of  asking  :  With 
what  letters  is  a  word  spelt  ?  we  should  ask :  With  what  letters  is  the 
word  written  ?  We  cannot  sj^ell  (even  in  the  proper  sense  of  this  word) 
all  words  found  in  the  present  English  language,  just  so  as  they  are  now 
sounded,  by  spelling  them  as  they  are  written.  And  just  those  words 
which  Englishmen  had  the  least  right  to  spoil,  have  been  most  ridicu- 
lously disfigured,  viz.,  the  woixls  taken  from  Latin ;  so  much  so  that 
even  where  they  pronounce  right  their  own  ancient  vernacular  (see 
p.  41)  words,  they  ill-treat  those  coming  from  Latin. 

By  spelling  the  woixis  accoixlinglfco  their  present  graphy  we  at 
once  are  in  ancient  Anglo-Saxon,  in  genuine  Latin,  in  German,  etc., 
in  short,  we  are  in  the  luminous  region  of  TRUTH,  in  the  ETYMA ; 
for,  €Tv/i-o9,  signifies  verus,  and  Ckeix)  translates  JEtymologia  with  Ve- 
riloquium^  truth-telling.  We  shall  see  below,  that  Etymology,  in 
the  proper  sense,  does  neither  signify  the  science  of  what  are  called 
Hoots  of  woixIs,  nor  that  part  of  grammar,  which  ti'eats  of  declensions 
and  conjugations.  It  means  the  coining  of  words  out  of  those  roots, 
in  the  various  ways  that  will  be  described.  Both  real  spellings  re- 
quire but  about  one-thiixl  of  the  time  which  the  ialse  spelling  con- 
sumes :  while  one  of  them  is  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  present  usu- 
al cacoepy,  and  the  other  with  the  neai'ly  or  quite  true  form  and 
sound  of  the  word.  Thus  we  have  the  pleasure  to  mispronounce  the 
words  to  our  hearts'  content,  accoixling  to  the  spoken  language,  ^\ith- 
out  offending  the  truth  of  the  existing  disease  of  the  language  ;  and 
we  are  also,  by  pronouncing  the  word  as  wntten,  in  the  truth  both 
of  the  health  of  our  own  ancient  tongue  and  of  that  foreign  idiom  io 
which  it  belongs.  We  are  truthful ;  we  gain  unsought-for  know- 
ledge ;  we  save  time,  labor  and  money  ;  we  do  not  sin  against  any 
principle  of  any  science. 

By  the  present  English  miscalled  spelling.  One  single  word  only 
can  he  correctly  spelt.  This  word  is  the  interjection  0 !  and  even 
this  only  when  not  written  oh  !  But  to  exclaim  O,  with  the  only  true 
sound  of  this  letter,  that  is  found  among  the  so-called  names  of  the 
letters^  is  again  not  sj^tting  :  because  a  single  sound  cannot  be  split. 
4 


bS  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

There  is  not  one  single,  solitary  correct  representation,  of  either  the 
sounds  or  of  the  letters,  within  the  whole  range  of  the  so-called  Eng- 
lish orthoepy ! 

There  are  now  28  simple  sounds  in  the  English  language.  Both 
I.  Pitman  (who  counts  25,  but  makes  41  lettei-s)  and  Prof.  R.  G.  La- 
tham (who  confusedly  makes  out  40  elementarj^  sounds),  and  almost 
all  other  English  writers  are  in  error  as  to  the  number  of  the  simple 
sounds,  or  as  to  their  separation  from  compound  sounds,  or  otherwise. 

Of  these  28  sounds,  20  are  represented  by  single  letters.  They 
are  here  given  in  such  words  as  contain  them  in  their  native  purity, — 
but  without  regard  to  quantity,  i.  e.,  the  length  or  shortness  of  the 
vowels, — viz. :  Alabama,  6et,  can  (and  A:id,  guick),  G?id,  end,  /ar,  ^et, 
Aat,  ink  (and  only),  Zot,  T/ien,  no,  old,  put,  red,  s\t,  teW,  fwll,  vat,  zest, 
— Four  are  written  with  com  Joined  lettei-s  or  indicated  by  position, — 
viz. :  ^Aick,  with  sharp  assibilated  t,  which  might  be  represented  by 
the  Greek  &  or  by  f  ;  this,  with  mild  assibilated  d,  representable  by 
d^  ;  sAall  (or  na^i-on)  which  might  be  noted  by  s*  ;  and  glazi-er  (and 
OM-er)  which  might  be  transcribed  by  z\ — Add  the  4  peculiar  vow- 
els, of  which  3  are  almost  exclusively  Enghsh,  viz. :  as,  wnder,  owght 
and  ^rk  (whose  6  is  also  found  in  French,  written  e  in  n\e  or  eu,  oeu; 
in  Magyar,  Turkish,  etc.) ;  and  we  thus  have  the  cycle  of  all  simple 
English  sounds. 

There  are,  besides,  10  compound  sounds,  of  which  4  are  diph- 
thongs, viz. :  out,  oiL  u&e,  idle  ;  while  the  rest  (though  no  more  de- 
serving to  be  classed  among  compound  sounds  than  any  other  com- 
binations, as  f.  i.  hent,  plan,  hurl,  etc.) — are  :  cAat  (and  pi/c/i),  gentle 
(and  ]ed(je,  join),  Ale^rander,  ea:ecute,  ^^'ine,  and  yet. 

We  shall  now  transcribe  phonetically  those  of  the  above  words 
given  as  examples,  whose  graphic  representation  diffei-s  from  their 
phonesis  (i.  e.  pronunciation),  thus :  ^'ic,  o?'is,  s'all,  gle^'ier ;  as,  wnder, 
at,  ork ;  aut,  iicz,  did\ ;  /6*'at,  o?2'entl,  Alecsander,  ^^geciut,  uvd'm,  yet. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  the  necessary  condition  of  being  under- 
stood ;  or,  in  other  words,  it  is  arduous  to  avoid  being  misunderstood, 
and,  at  once,  to  convey  the  exact,  simple,  genuine  sounds  of  the  ele- 
ments !  The  black  flag  of  despair  warns  one  against  attempting  the 
work  of  emancipation  from  the  gigantic  confusion.    One  is  reminded  of; 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  50 

"  Lasciate  ogni  speranza  voi  che  entrate! 
Queste  parole  di  colore  oscuro 
Vid'io  scritte  al  sommo  d'una  porta." 

Dante,  Dtv.  Com.,  Inf.,  c.  III.,  v.  9-11. 

Instead  of  wnting  the  English  language,  as  I.  Pitman  proposes, 
the  pronunciation  ought  to  be  amended, — if  possible, — or,  at  least, 
its  growing  coiTuptions  ought  to  be  stopped.  Phonography  could  be 
adopted  only, — and  then  with  the  greatest  advantage, — after  either 
of  the  following  things  had  taken  place,  viz.,  after :  a)  the  nations 
who  speak  English  had  been  brought  to  a  clear  sense  of  what  lan- 
guage is,  in  all  its  bearings  ;  or  after  b)  their  language  had  been  re- 
stored to  all  its  beautiful  native  proportions.  Is  there  any  hope  of 
either  or  of  both  of  these  desiderata  becoming  reahties  ? 

Even  as  it  is,  the  insufficiencies,  inconsistencies,  contradictions,  re- 
dundancies and  all  other  inconveniences,  complained  of  by  Prof.  La- 
tham, Fowler,  etc.,  are  not  so  terrible,  as  the  want  of  a  clear  per- 
ception and  conception  by  those  very  writers,  that  the  root  and  reality 
of  the  evil  are  not  to  be  sought  exclusively  and  chiefly  in  the  pre- 
vailing orthography,  but  rather  in  the  pronunciation,  and,  above  all, 
in  the  manner  of  teaching  the  elements  of  the  language.  They 
tinker  without  thinking ;  they  heap  Pelions  and  Ossas  of  learning 
upon  each  other,  with  the  intention  of  giving  light :  but,  in  so  doing, 
they  only  lead  the  student  to  deplore  the  anomalies  of  his  tongue, 
instead  of  pointing  out  the  real  source  of  its  dyscrasy,  and  instead  of 
suggesting  a  remedy.  The  English  language  is  innocent  of  its  fail- 
ings. Nor  are  these  so  much  the  product  of  the  people  as  of  the 
teachers.  There  is  no  more  majestic,  no  more  copious,  no  more  im- 
portant language,  than  the  English.  It  can  be  rectified  by.  resorting 
to  simple  common  sense,  aided  by  sound  and  practical  learning.  This 
learning  is  much  easier  of  acquisition,  than  the  lumbersome,  cumber- 
some method  and  system  of  spelling,  pai"sing,  OllendoiiSng  now  in 
vogue. 

It  cannot  be  sufficiently  repeated  that, — excepting  a  moderate 
amount  of  absurdities  of  the  present  orthography  (vulgo  called  spell- 
ing), which  could  be  very  easily  removed, — the  bulk  of  the  English 
language  is  correctly  represented  to  the  bodily  eye  ;  pro\'ided  we  have 
a  mental  eye  for  its  own  ancient  forms  and  present  dialects,  as  well  as 
for  its  kindred  languages  of  the  Indo-European  family.   Let  it  be  pro- 


60  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

nounced  as  it  now  is,  for  the  purposes  of  common  life :  but  do  not 
touch  the  essence  of  its  orthography  !  Let  the  sounds  of  the  spoken 
language  be  analyzed  by  children  before  they  are  taught  the  letters ; 
let  the  letters  then  be  taught  as  they  ought  to  be.  Apply  the  sounds 
represented  by  the  letters  to  that  enormous  mass  of  English  words 
and  parts  of  words,  which  are  really  written  phonetically ;  and,  after 
the  children  had  thus  learnt  what  is  true, — and  not  before, — intro- 
duce to  them  those  words  and  parts  of  words,  in  which  the  writing 
disagrees  from  the  speaking.  The  very  oddity  of  this  discrepancy 
will  strike  the  children,  and  be  better  remembered,  without  impairing 
their  sense  of  truthfulness. 

Further,  let  the  words  of  the  latter  kind  be  pronounced  just 
as  they  are  written,  and  the  child  will  find  pleasure  in  doing  it ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  will  learn  other  languages,  without  perceiving 
this  exercise  to  be  a  new,  burdensome  study.  Pronounce,  f.  i.,  the 
following  words  just  so  as  written,  and  you  are  immediately  in,  or 
near  the  languages  which  are  marked  by  their  initials  in  parenthesis : 
knee  (G.  Gr.,  L.),  A;nit,  A:nave,  ^nife,  Arnead,  kmghi  (G.) ;  ^ome,  dia- 
phragm, phle</m,  paradigm  (Gr.) ;  ni^A,  fi^^t,  li^At,  mi^/it,  ri^At,  si^At, 
plif/At,  fri/7At,  brou^At,  thou^/At,  frei^At  (G.),  aZms  (Gr.,  G.),  p^alm  (Gr.), 
haZf,  caZf  (G.)  ;  sz^ord,  ansi^^er  (G.) ;  deftt,  douit,  subtle  (L.) ;  cata- 
comb, rAeum  (Gr.),  scene,  sceptre,  ascetic  (Gr.),  descend,  viscid,  scissors, 
irascible  (L.),  a.  s.  f. 

What  are  the  so-palled  names  of  the  letters  ?  Answer,  They  are 
another  monument  of  slovenly  logic.  The  word  name  is  a  by-form  of 
the  Latin  nom-en  (yvw/xoiv,  index,  pointer,  a  sign  whereby  we  are 
made  to  know  an  unknown  thing ;  a  mark).  Now,  a  sign  must  have 
— in  order  to  be  good, — a  natural  connexion  with  the  thing  which  it 
is  to  betoken  ;  it  must  not  lead  astray ;  it  must  itself  be  posterior  in 
origin  to  the  other  thing ;  it  must,  in  short,  comply  with  all  requisites 
of  a  sign.  The  impoilance  of  a  natural  relation  between  the  sign 
or  name,  and  the  thing  which  it  is  to  indicate,  grows  with  the  import- 
ance of  the  latter.  Enough  has  been  said  on  this  topic  ! — A  name 
or  sign  appeals  not  merely  to  the  ear,  but  to  the  other  organs  of  sense 
also.  The  letters  are  the  signs  (tokens^  remembrancers)  or  visible 
names  of  the  sounds,  which  are  evanescent,  while  the  lettei-s  are  fixed. 
Hence  letters  are  called  Buchstaben  in  G.  (book-staves),  literce  in  L. 
(lino,   lit-um,  b-lots),   Grammata  in  Gr.   (ypa</)w,  s-cribo,  en-grave^ 


ENGLISH  LANGUAGE.  61 

s-crape),  reminding  us  of  the  sounds,  and  not  of  arbitraiy,  uncouth, 
mind-and-ear-stunting  groups  of  sounds.  The  ]mre  sounds^  for  the 
representation  of  which  letter  have  been  contrived,  need  no  names  ! 
They  are  their  oivn  names,  as  soon  as  they  are  properly  uttered. 
Could  we  have  a  real  live  horse  at  every  utterance  of  the  word  horse 
(equuSj  cheval,  F/erd,  etc.),  we  should  not  need  this  word.  If  you 
want  A  in  Alabama,  do  not  go  bleating  four  times  e  ;  if  you  want 
simplicity,  do  not  eye  three  times  and  do  not  ask  yourself  why  ?  at 
the  end ;  unless  you  apply  this  word  to  inquire  why  you  do  not  wish 
to  know  the  truth  about  your  e-bi-si  ? — If  you  absolutely  must  have 
names,  do  as  the  Hebrews,  Arabs,  Greeks,  Indians,  Russians,  etc.,  did  ; 
say  ^dam,  6at,  cat,  etc. 

That  the  pronunciation  of  the  alphabet,  here  proposed,  for  the 
thousandth  time  (considering  the  admonitions  of  all  good  writers  on 
language),  is  really  more  in  harmony  with  the  English  language,  even 
as  now  spoken,  than  the  vulgar  spelling, — is  very  easy  of  demonstra- 
tion. Take  a  well-known  passage,  f.  i.,  the  3d  chapter  of  Walter 
Scott's  Waverly,  from  the  beginning  to  the  words  "  primary  object 
of  study ;"  count  the  number  of  times  that  the  ambiguous  letters 
occur,  and  you  will  find — (leaving,  however,  out  of  the  question  the 
following  combinations  :  a^,  ay,  au,  aw  ;  ei,  ey,  eu,  ew  ;  oa,  oe  ;  ou  ; 
^y  /  <^^)  9^)  9^}  as  not  affecting  it)  that  those  letters  occur  thus : 

Times  Times  Times 

a  244,    as  in  Italian  206,   as  now  spelt  38 


e 

340, 

"     312, 

u 

u 

28 

i 

240, 

"         "     222, 

a 

a 

18 

u 

58, 

"       38, 

u 

a 

20 

y 

35, 

"    Span.     33, 

u 

u 

2 

c 

81, 

"  as  ^         54, 

(( 

u 

27 

9 

51, 

as  in  give  39, 

(t 

u 

12 

On  an  average,  the  natural,  organic,  almost  universal  sounds  of 
all  the  lettei-s,  even  in  English,  stand  to  the  arbitrary,  unorganic,  very 
sectarian  names  of  the  English  schools,  in  the  ratio  of  about  8  to  1. 
And  yet  these  would-be-names,  with  their  twin-brother,  spelling,  are 
more  worshipped  than  the  "  presto,  hocus-pocus,"  or  the  cabalistic 
figures,  whereby  the  necromancers,  alchymists  et  hoc  genus  omne,  of 


62  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE. 

the  middle  ages,  believed,  or  pretended  to  be  able  to  conjure  the 
spirit  of  nature.  Hence  the  narcosis  of  good  taste,  of  hearing  and 
of  some  other  faculties,  in  millions  of  highly-gifted  men.  In  the  2d 
edition  of  the  Grammaire  Generate  de  Messrs.  de  Port-Royal^  pub- 
lished in  1664,  we  find  already  the  method  of  uttenng  the  natural 
sounds  of  the  letters,  not  only  recommended,  but  as  having  already 
been  practised  in  the  instruction  of  all  kinds  of  languages,  long  time 
since.  Holla  !  Schoolmasters,  awake  !  The  sun  has  already  arisen 
two  centuries  ago ! 

"  Their  idols  are  silver  and  gold^  the  work  of  men's  hands.  They 
have  mouths,  hut  they  speak  not :  eyes  have  they,  hut  they  see  not : 
They  have  ears,  hut  they  hear  not :  noses  have  they,  hut  they  smell 
not :  They  have  hands,  hut  they  handle  not :  feet  have  they,  hut  they 
walk  not :  neither  speak  they  through  their  throat  /  TViey  that  make 
them  are  like  unto  them  :  so  is  every  one.  that  trusteth  in  themP  Ps. 
cxv.  4-8. 

Bixi,  No  polemics  hereafter.  Those  who  wish  to  have  mouths, 
eyes,  ears,  and  comply  with  the  conditions  necessary  for  progress,  will 
profit  by  what  follows. 


CHAPTER    III 


SOUNDS     AND      LETTERS. 

"  Ce  qui  paraissait  exception,  c'est  la  regie  meme ;  ce  qui  semble  ddsordre,  est  un  ordre 
plus  savant :  partout  la  simplicite  de  la  cause  triomphe  dans  la  complication  infinie  des  effets." 

— ROYER— COLLARD. 

"  Levia  quidem  haec  et  parvi  forte,  si  per  se  spectentur,  momenti.  Sed  ex  elementis  con- 
stant, ex  principiis  oriuntur  omnia  :  etex  judicii  consuetudine  in  rebus  minutis  adhibita,  pen- 
det  saepissime  etiam  in  maximis  vera  atque  accurata  scientia. "—Clarke,  Praf.  ad  Iliad. 

All  teachei-s  of  Music  begin  the  instruction  of  their  pupils  with  more 
or  less  detailed  explanations  of  the  nature  of  the  instrument,  upon 
which  the  pupil  is  to  be  taught  to  perform.  The  better  the  teacher 
is,  the  more  does  he  dwell  on  these  as  well  as  on  some  other  prehm- 
inaries,  before  entering  upon  the  practice  of  the  instruction  itself.  As 
language  is  analogous  in  several  points  to  Music,  it  may  not  be  amiss 
to  notice  the  convictions  (not  mere  opinions)  of  some  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished professors,  on  the  importance  of  elementary  instruction. 
Ch.  Czerny  speaks  thus  in  the  preface  to  his  great  Pianoforte  School : 

"  Much  the  greater  number  of  those  who  begin  to  learn  the  P.-f.  consist  of 
children  from  eight  to  ten  years  of  age ;  and  in  truth  we  ought  to  commence 
as  early  as  possible,  if  we  wish  to  attain  to  any  great  degree  of  proficiency. 
For  this  reason,  it  is  necessary  to  explain  the  first  rudiments,  on  which  in  fact 
every  thing  depends,  in  af^dl,  clear  and  comprehensive  manner ;  for  here  any 
thing  like  laconic  brevity  is  more  particularly  misplaced,  since  the  mere  un- 
taught child  is  not  capable  of  unravelling  nor  comprehending  it,  nor  indeed 
are  many  teachers  themselves.  In  many  Instruction  Books  the  rules  are 
laid  down  so  concisely,  that  the  pupil  may  in  a  few  minutes  learn  by  heart 
the  words  in  which  they  are  expressed.  But  it  requires  months,  nay,  even 
years,  and  innumerable  repetitions  of  these  rules  by  the  teacher,  before  they 
can  accustom  themselves  to  follow  those  precepts  with  practical  correctness. 


64  SOUNDS    AND   LETTERS. 

-i^ajaawoany  pupils  sacrifice  years  to  discover  and  rectify  what  was  misun- 
derstood, or  erroneous  in  their  first  instructions  !  The  First  Part  of  the 
present  method  is  written  according  to  this  view  of  the  case,  and  with  the 
endeavor  that  beginners  of  every  age,  without  any  waste  of  time,  and  in  a 
manner  not  unpleasant,  may  obtain  a  clear,  comprehensive  and  well  grounded 
explanation  of  the  elementary  principles  of  Music  and  of  playing  on  the 
P.-f. ;  and  open  to  their  talent  a  correct  and  regular  path  towards  a  high 
degree  of  refinement  in  execution  ;  and  that  pupils,  whose  circumstances 
will  not  admit  of  their  employing  an  eminent  master,  may  by  a  frequent 
and  attentive  perusal  of  each  chapter,  and  an  industrious  practice  of  the 
examples,  find  all  the  means  requisite  to  ensure  a  well-regulated  progress  ; 
and,  lastly,  that  many  young  teachers  may  herein  find  a  desirable  and  cer- 
tain guide,  to  preserve  their  pupils  from  falling  into  errors,  and  to  acceler- 
ate their  progress  towards  perfection  .  .  .  .  ^'  As  the  use  so  will  be  the  gain" 

In  the  1st  Lesson  he  treats  minutely  on  the  position  of  the  body 
and  of  the  hands,  then  on  the  names  of  the  keys  and  of  their  distri- 
bution ;  in  the  2d  on  touching  or  striking  the  keys ;  in  the  3d  on 
the  names  of  the  notes,  on  finger-exercises,  etc.  Along  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  Jceys^  the  pupil  must  be  shown  the  notes  appropri- 
ated to  them.  By  a  lengthened  practice  of  the  Scales,  shakes,  and 
other  easy  and  common  passages,  the  pupil  may  in  the  most  pleasant 
manner  acquire  a  certain  degree  of  mechanical  facility  in  the  fingers, 
before  he  proceeds  to  the  more  difficult  acquisition  of  a  knowledge  of 
the  notes.    In  the  8th  Lesson  we  read : 

"  As  soon  as  the  pupil  has  attained  some  knowledge  as  to  the  reading  of 
the  notes,  and  some  facility  in  playing  the  finger-exercises,  he  must  prac- 
tise the  Scales  in  all  the  12  major  keys,  and  by  degrees  learn  them  bij  heart ; 
he  must  consider  them  as  a  perpetual  study,  and  during  the  remaining  pe- 
riod of  his  learning,  never  omit  playing  them  over  every  day,  either  wholly, 
or  at  least  in  part.    The  Chromatic  Scale  is  also  essential.  .  .  ." 

In  Part  IL  on  scale-exercises : 

"  Should  any  pupil  think  that  too  much  importance  is  attached  to  this 
subject,  we  may  assure  him  as  follows :  since  the  invention  of  the  Piano- 
forte the  scale-passages  have  been  a  sort  of  common  property  to  all  com- 
posers. They  are  to  be  found  in  musical  works  written  100  years  ago,  as 
frequently  as  in  the  newest  and  most  modern ; — as  often  in  the  most  insignifi- 
cant trifles,  as  in  the  classical  compositions  of  a  Bach,  a  Mozart  or  a  Beet- 
hoven : — and  they  must  contiime  to  serve  the  purpose  of  every  future 
composer,  however  original  he  may  be.  Most  other  studies  contain  for  the 
greater  part  passages  which  seldom  or  never  occur  elsewhere.  However 
serviceable  the  practice  of  such  exercises  may  be,  they  yet  indubitably  stand 


SOUNDS    AND    LETTERS.  _, 

after  such  as  occur  every  where  and  are  useful  at  every  momeB 
besides,  so  remarkably  facilitate  the  performance  of  all  others.  The  great- 
est singers  owe  their  celebrity  to  the  constant  practice  of  their  Solfeggi; 
and  what  these  are  for  singing,  the  scale-exercises  are  for  P.-f  playing, 
tf  in  some  countries  good  singers  are  so  scarce,  the  cause  is  that  few  have 
patience  and  perseverance  enough  to  practise  the  scale  with  that  zeal  and 
constancy,  as  is  done  in  Italy.  This  is  exactly  the  case  too  with  Piano-forte 
players  every  where.  But  above  all,  the  scales  must  be  practised  according 
to  rule,  and  always  with  the  greatest  attention.  Whoever  practises  them 
in  a  wrong  manner,  will  assuredly  ruin  his  playing  altogether." 

J.  N.  Hummel,  Ch.  H.  Rink  and  all  other  good  teachers  and 
composei's,  at  the  same  time,  express  themselves  with  emphasis  on  the 
paramount  importance  of  a  con-ect  beginning.  The  same  is  the  case 
with  all  honest,  enlightened  and  successful  teachers  of  every  art  or 
science,  with  the  exception  of  the  greatest  mass  of  those  who  attempt 
and  pretend  to  teach  the  most  important  of  all  scientific  arts  or  ar- 
tistic sciences,  i.  e.,  Language.  The  number  of  such  teachers  of  lan- 
guages as  do  not  even  dream  of  the  tool,  is  legion ;  while  those  who 
condescend  to  mention  something  of  the  kind,  are  m  the  greatest 
hurry  to  leave  the  subject,  scarcely  ever  making  any  use  of  it  after- 
wards. Many  persons  laugh  outright  on  hearing  such  "  funny"  ex- 
pressions as  "  organs  of  speech,"  "  guttural  sounds,"  etc. ;  and  many 
who  stand  in  a  great  odor  of  scholai-ship,  are  disposed  to  think  any 
one  who  should  dare  to  say  that  the  Alphabet  is  not  known,  or  that 
it  is  significant,  a  trifler,  if  not  something  worse.  What  has  been 
said  by  Czerny  on  Music,  fits  Glossology  to  a  nicety,  if  we  but  substi- 
tute organs  of  speech  for  keys,  letters  for  notes,  radical  combinations 
for  scales,  a.  s.  f.  Hummel  says :  "  Let  the  teacher  also  pay  as  much 
attention  as  possible  to  the  pure  tuning  of  the  instrument,  in  order 
that  the  hearing  of  the  pupil  be  not  impaired  but  rather  refined  and 
sharpened."  Who  ever  spoke  of  tuning-mouths  ?  exclaims  the  whole 
chorus  of  language-teachers.  Milton  and  other  competent  men  did 
so,  but  to  no  purpose.  The  consequences  of  the  neglect  are  manifest, 
but  again  not  to  those  who  five  on  it. 

Elementary  instruction  in  language  ought  to  be  given  orally,  since 
it  by  nature  belongs  to  the  province  of  hearing.  One  of  the  greatest 
eiTors  in  teaching  is,  to  begin  with  showing  the  lettei's  to  the  eye,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  not  treating  them  as  notes  (or  names  of  the  sounds), 
but  as  things  independent,  as  it  were,  and  requiring  to  be  named  by 
4* 


66  SOUNDS  AKD  LETTERS. 

sounds.  It  is  difficult,  therefore,  to  render  one's  self  intelligible  by  tak- 
ing a  course  which  differs  from  the  common  practice,  in  which  the 
ear  is  misled  by  the  eye.  We  cannot  render  sounds  visible  or  tangi- 
ble in  the  shape  of  letters  or  book-staves  or  engravings  or  raised 
blocks ;  and  yet  we  are  forced  to  use  letters  inf  every  book.  Oral 
lectures  on  the  subject  of  language  are  shunned,  and  written  instruc- 
tion fails  greatly  of  its  aim,  as  it  lacks  necessary  livehness.  In  this 
discouraging  position,  there  is  no  other  help  than  to  entreat  the  reader 
to  comply  most  strictly  with  the  suggestions  made  in  the  second 
chapter. 

The  speech-forming  power  of  the  hum^n  mind  followed,  uncon- 
sciously, the  natural  laws  that  bound  it  to  the  organs  of  speech. 
Freedom  and  necessity,  or  free  formation  and  restriction  by  the  laws 
of  nature,  are,  therefore,  intimately  entwined  in  language.  Each  lan- 
guage and  dialect  is  thus  a  living  or  organic  unity,  whose  parts  are 
not  merely  heaped  or  strung  together  without  connexion,  but  bearing 
upon  each  other,  in  a  manner  similar  to  those  of  organic  bodies,  veg- 
etable or  animal.  This  mysterious  structure,  based  upon  the  nature  of 
our  organs  of  speech,  is  called  Phonetism^  and  its  systematic  know- 
ledge Phonology  (<^wv^,  voice,  sound). 

SouNd  (L.  6'(mus,  by-form  of  tonw^ ;  from  rctvco,  tendio.  G.  Lauty 
loud,  and  Schall,  call,  gale,  etc.  See  below  on  Germs  and  Roots)  is 
that  which  is  especially  perceived  by  the  ear.  It  consists  in  the  sen- 
sation of  oscillations  (or  vibrations,  tremblings,  surgings)  of  a  body, 
which  are  conveyed  from  it  to  the  ear,  by  means  of  the  atmospheric 
air  or  by  some  other  intermediate  body,  and  which  there  excite  what 
we  call  hearing  (aKouctv,  to  hear.  Hence  the  name  of  Acoustics).  If 
the  vibrations  be  of  even  velocity,  the  sound  is  simple  (G.  Klang), 
and  if  it  be  also  of  a  determinate  pitch  (height  or  depth)  it  is  called 
a  tone.  But  if  the  vibrations  be  uneven,  i.  e.,  partly  quicker  partly 
slower,  we  hear  a  mixed  or  confused  sound,  noise.  There  is  no  uni- 
form constancy  in  the  use  which  is  made  of  these  various  denomina- 
tions, owing  to  the  laxity  of  their  acceptation. 

VoiCe  (L.  vox,  identical  radically  with  fauc-es  which  is  wrongly 
translated  by  jaws  ;  being  the  back-cavity  of  the  mouth,  above  the 
larynx  and  pharynx.  G.  Stimme,  originally  meaning  something  est- 
ablished,  ste7n-my)  is  a  sound  produced  by  certain  organs  of  animals, 
in  consequence  of  inward  impulse  or  external  sensfition.     It  is  formed 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  67 

before  reaching  the  cavity  of  the  mouth,  to  be  fashioned  by  the  or- 
gans of  speech  proper,  into  what  we  call  articulate  sounds. 

The  lungs  act  the  part  of  bellows  to  the  organs  of  speech,  furnish- 
ing them  a  current  of  air,  to  be  shaped  or  modulated  into  the  vari- 
ous speech-sounds.  The  expirated  air  is  collected  by  the  very  numer- 
ous bronchia  (related  to  branch,  break)  into  the  wind-pipe  [trachea, 
aspera  arteria).  It  then  rises  to  the  larynx,  which  is  composed  of 
elastic  cartilages  or  gristles,  connected  by  a  complicated  system  of 
ligaments,  and  moved  by  many  muscles.  The  larynx  is  covered,  and 
thus  guarded  against  food  or  drink  falling  into  it,  by  the  epiglottis  (a 
kind  of  upper  tongue),  which  is  united  to  the  root  of  the  tongue. 
Above  the  middle  of  the  larynx  there  are  in  it  two  elastic  ligaments,  like 
the  parchment  of  a  drum,  slit  in  the  middle  and  forming  an  aperture 
(at  right  angles  with  another  exterior  aperture)  which  is  called  the 
infenov  or  true  glottis.  This  slit  is  about  four-fifths  of  an  inch  long, 
and  a  twelfth  of  an  inch  broad  (in  adults).  This  complicated  head 
of  the  wind-pipe  is  the  organ  of  the  voice.  Its  structure  is  described 
in  all  works  on  the  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  Man  (especially  in  J. 
Mueller's  Physiology).  The  works  of  Chladni,  Sir  John  Herschell, 
Dr.  Rush  and  of  othei-s,  on  acoustics  and  on  the  human  voice,  ought 
to  be  consulted  by  all  teachei-s  of  languages. 

All  speech-sounds  are  divided  into  two  classes,  viz..  Vowels  and 
Cmisona7its.  This  division  is  made  by  a  mental  analysis  (unloosening) 
of  the  natural  tie,  which  connects  the  sounds  into  a  really  undivided 
unity.  Although  we  cannot  completely  seize  nature  in  forming  spe- 
cific sounds,  we  must  endeavor  to  distinguish  the  peculiarities  of  each 
as  much  as  possible  ;  we  must  also  fix  certain  points  at  which,  and 
certain  qualities  by  which,  we  may  attain  to  such  a  clearness  of  hear- 
ing and  of  conception,  as  is  necessar}^  for  the  ends  of  speech. 

When  the  parts  of  the  mouth  do  not  touch  one  another,  but  are 
only  more  or  less  contracted,  thus  modifying  the  tube  through  which 
the  voice  issues  from  the  larynx  into  the  atmosphere,  either  by  the 
lower  passage  of  the  mouth,  or  by  the  upper  of  the  nose ; — we  pro- 
duce Vowels  ((^wvrjcvra,  i.  e.  crTotxctct,  elements). 

When  the  parts  of  the  mouth  do  touch  one  another,  more  or  less, 
so  that  the  current  of  the  expired  air  is  either  entirely  interrupted  or  al- 
lowed to  escape  through  a  small  aperture ; — we  utter  articulated 
sounds,  which  are  commonly  called  Consonants  (oT/w,</)(Dva).   The  parts 


68  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

of  the  mouth,  which  thus  modify  the  voice  into  decidedly  organic 
sounds,  are  the  organs  of  speech,  in  a  strict  sense.  They  are  the  up- 
per part  of  the  larynx  where  it  passes  into  the  tongue,  and  what  is 
called  by  some  writei*s  the  throat  [guttur),  by  othei-s  palate ;  the 
tongue ;  the  edge  of  the  palate  with  the  teeth  ;  and  the  lips.  The 
passage  of  the  nose  completes  the  apparatus.  The  most  complicated 
of  these  several  organs  is  the  fii-st-named ;  its  situation  also  renders  its 
function  most  important :  so  that  its  phonetic  productions  are  akin  to 
the  vowels,  on  one  side,  and  to  the  other  consonants,  both  of  the 
mouth  and  of  the  nose,  on  the  other.  Hence  the  vagueness  in  the 
denomination  of  the  sounds  formed  by  it,  as  gutturals  by  some,  as 
palatals  by  others.  The  tongue,  a  kind  of  valve,  could  by  itself  not 
intercept  the  passage  of  the  voice  ;  it  must,  to  do  so,  touch  the  edge 
of  the  palate  and  the  teeth.  The  concurrence  of  the  most  movable 
part  with  the  most  stable  parts  of  the  mouth,  in  the  production  of 
sounds,  is  a  complication  of  a  less  deep  character,  than  that  of  the 
root  of  the  tongue  with  the  throat.  Hence  the  sounds  here  produced 
can  be  subdivided  into  Unguals,  wherein  the  tongue  is  more  engaged, 
and  into  dentals,  where  it  is  less  affected,  acting  rather  as  a  mere 
pointer.  The  lips  are  sufficient  in  themselves  to  intercept  the  stream 
of  the  issuing  air.  Yet,  while  each  of  these  three  sluices,  so  to  say, 
of  the  speech-canal  are  engaged  in  their  several  phonetic  functions  or 
gests,  the  movement  of  each  affects,  more  or  less,  the  others. 

It  is  owing  to  this  "  solidarity"  or  mutual  affection  of  the  organs 
of  speech,  that  the  ex^act  number  of  sounds  found  in  all  languages 
cannot  be  fixed  with  absolute  certainty.  It  is  believed  to  amount  to 
between  40  and  50,  according  to  the  various  views  of  glossologists ;  to 
between  58  and  60,  in  Volney's  opinion.  The  latter  is  certainly  ex- 
aggerated. 

All  speech-sounds  are  called  articulate  by  some  writers.  But  it 
is  preferable  to  restrict  this  appellation  to  the  so-called  consonants, 
and  to  distinguish  the  vowels  by  the  epithet  musical.  For,  the  latter 
can  be  produced  by  musical  instruments,  by  the  wind  blowing  tlirough 
fissures,  between  trees,  ropes,  a.  s.  f.,  by  great  many  birds  and  quad- 
rupeds, and,  according  to  the  experiments  of  Kratzenstein,  Kempe- 
LEN,  Wheatstone,  Prof.  Willis,  etc.,  by  reed-pipes  and  similar  con- 
trivances. L.  art-US,  limb,  joint  (something  arranged  in  ord-cr,  and 
akin  to  L.  arm-us,  ar^i ;  jarm-a,  arms ;  and  to  ram-us,  branch,  Pol 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 


69 


ram-ie,  shoulder),  diminut.  ar^iculus,  may  be  put  along  side  of  ofyya- 
vov,  instrument,  tool  (cpyov,  work,  irk),  to  which  it  is  related :  so  that 
articulate  may  go  together  with  organic,  and  both  may  be  more  strict- 
ly applied  to  the  consonants ;  in  whose  production  the  limbs  of  the 
machine,  by  which  speech  is  wrought,  are  more  active  than  they  are 
in  the  modification  of  the  voice  into  specific  vowels. 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  various  modifications  in  the  cavity 
of  the  mouth,  by  which  the  simple  5  vowels  are  produced.* 


j  Aperture  of  the  mouth  .  .  . 
"I  Width  of  the  mouth-canal  . 

Fauces 

Tongue 

j  Lips 

l  Tongue  drawn    ..... 


highest 
raised 
expanded 
forwards 


middling 
natural 


I  \ 


Kempelbn. 


Chlaoni. 
Krug. 


lowest. 

low. 

pointed.  ^     Iboeckh. 


backwards. 


The  central,  principal  vowel  is  A,  the  extremes  being  I  and  U,  of 
which  I  is  prior  in  origin  and  importance  to  U.  The  other  two  are 
secondary,  intermediate  between  the  centre  and  the  extremes,  accord- 
ing to  the  following  scheme. 

I  highest. 


ii  (sound  between  i  and  u) 
French  u. 


U  lowest  (French  ow,  Gr.  ov). 


Applied  to  the  musical  ascending  scale,  they  are  thus  arranged  by 
Flcerke  (Berlin.  Monatschr.,  1803,  Sept.;  1804,  Feb.)  : 


o 
9 


o         a     e 

cflat  / 


u 
9 


*  The  reader  is  again  warned  against  giving  to  these  letters  the  so- 
called  names  used  in  spelling  English.  They  betoken  the  Italian,  Spanish, 
Latin  vowels ! 


10 


SOUNDS  AND  LEITERS. 


Prof.  Willis's  Table  (Transact.  Cambridge  Philos.  Soc.  Vol.  III., 
1829). 


VOWELS. 

WORDS. 

INCHES. 

MUSIC   NOTE. 

I 

see 

tVo 

inn 
g 

E 
A 

pet 

pay 

pad 
part 

1 

2  r\ 

c '"" 
d"" 
f" 

d  "  flat 

A° 

paw 
nought 

3  tU 
3  tV 

g" 
e  "  flat 

0 

no 

4tV 

c  " 

U 

but   ) 
boot  j 

indefinite 

John  Wallis  (see  p.  1 7)  gives  the  following  table  of  vowels,  co- 
ordinating their  three  kinds  with  the  Hebrew  matres  lectionis  and  the 
Arabic  signs  of  vowels  : 


APERTURE  OP  MOUTH. 

GREAT. 

MIDDLING. 

LITTLE. 

Guttur. 

F?tha(.:.) 

a^Germ. 

6  (au,  aw  Engl.) 

e  femin.  Franc. 
S/r  English 

J  I  obscure,  turn  Engl. 

Palat. 

Kesra  ('") 

a  slender 
bat  Engl, 

6  masc.  Franc, 
(tongue  raised) 

?«(  .lender  ^f«^;=S6l. 

Lab. 

DhammaV-'j 

6  round 

Q  coal  Engl. 

oo,  tool  Engl. 

U 

u  Blender  in  full  Engl. 

If  we  were  allowed  to  draw  analogies  between  the  sensations  of 
other  organs  and  that  of  hearing,  wo  might  liken  the  scale  of  the 
vowels  to 

a)  Colors,  thus :  I  to  red,  e  to  orange,  A  to  yellow,  o  to  green, 
U  to  blue ; 

b)  Figures,  thus :  I  to  a  triangle,  A  to  a  circle,  U  to  a  square ; 

c)  Feeling  of  caloric,  thus :  I  to  hot,  A  to  comfortable,  U  to  cold ; 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  7l 

d)  Feeling  of  well-being^  thus :  I  sliai-p  pain,  A  to  quiet  health, 

joy,  U  to  horripilation  (hair-raising  shudder)  or  dull  pain. 

Were  it  permitted  to  go  still  further,  there  might  be  some  analo- 
gy drawn  between  the  elements  of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  the  tem- 
peraments of  man,  as  fancied  in  ancient  times  and  in  the  middle  ages. 

However  this  may  be,  the  Vowels  are  not  significant  of  clear  con- 
ceptions (Denkbeelden,  see  p.  23),  whatever  Fr.  Bopp  and  other  emi- 
nent linguists  may  assert  to  the  contrary.  They  are  in  all  those  cases 
in  which  they  convey  ideas  (images  of  thought),  either  mere  frag- 
ments or  ruins  of  words  (f.  i.,  the  English  I  for  tc,  a  for  an  ;  the  Italic 
o  for  oo?,  e  for  ed  ;  the  French  a  has,  y  there  ;  etc.),  or  masked  con- 
sonants (f.  i.,  the  English  sa^d  for  obsol.  sa^d,  flail  for  flayel ;  Fr.  fait 
for  fact,  royal  for  re^al ;  Portuguese,  do?^tor  for  doctor ;  Germ,  ge- 
benedeyt  for  L.  benedict-us  ;  Span,  dewda,  L.  de6it-um,  de6t ;  etc.),  or 
products  of  some  eiTor.  They  are,  nevertheless,  a  necessary  part  of 
language.  Without  their  concurrence  no  consonant  could  be  audibly 
uttered,  still  less  conveyed  to  a  distance  required  by  the  ends  of  speech. 
They  are,  so  to  say,  the  cellular  tissue  of  language,  the  potential  ele- 
ment of  the  genesis  of  the  consonants  themselves.  They  serve  for  the 
embellishment  of  language,  besides  being  its  cement :  unless  used  to 
superabundance.  The  cantabile  of  language  is  owing  to  their  pre- 
sence. In  a  higher  point  of  view,  they  are  admirably  fitted  to  mod- 
ify the  logic  (organic  and  radical)  elements  of  language  into  gram- 
matic  forms  (parts  of  speech,  declensions,  conjugations,  comparisons, 
etc.),  dialects,  a.  s.  f.  Emotions  are  also  of  their  province,  witness  the 
interjections.  All  that  has  just  been  said,  may  be  tested  by  any  body 
who  should  try  to  read  passages  in  any  language,  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  substitute  for  all  the  vowels  a  single  one,  f.  i.,  the  French  so-called 
femin.  or  mute  c,  (even  where  the  French  pronounce  ew,  em  nasal ; 
sounding  it  like  i  in  irk),  thus  : 

"  Lcrn  tc  prcncncc  e\exe  letter  frcm  e  nctcvc  Pcrsc-cn ;  then  percs^  the 
grcmracr  ....  Whc-cvcr  possesses  the  cdmercblc  wcrk  of  Mcncnske, 
well  heve  ne  eccese-en  fer  ene  ether  decte-enere  ....  The  ferst  bek  te  he 
red  es  the  Gelesten  (bed  ef  reses)  ef  Se-ede,  ....  ed-eted  be  Gente-es." 
Sir  Wm.  Jones. 

Many  peculiarities  of  the  vowels  will  become  evident  from  the 
short  account  about  to  be  given  of  the  principal  systems  of  writing. 

Vowels  have  the  greatest  affinity  with  the  guttural  consonants. 


72  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

This  may  seem  strange,  siDce  these  two  kinds  of  sounds  are  most 
opposed  as  to  their  power  of  symbolizing  ideas ;  that  of  the  vowels 
being  lowest  in  that  respect,  while  the  gutturals  are  the  princes  of 
human  sounds.  The  indefiniteness  of  the  limits  of  vowels  permits 
them  to  step  over  into  the  region  of  other  sounds  and  mostly  into 
that  of  the  gutturals.  Prof.  Willis  found,  by  his  experiments  on 
reed-pipes,  that  the  vowels  are  produced  in  the  following  succession  of 
cycles,  becoming  less  distinct  in  each  cycle : 

iea  0  u      u  o  aei   iea  o  u      u  o   aei   i 

:  and  s.  f. 


12  II  2  III' 


When  the  pitch  of  the  reed  is  high,  some  of  the  vowels  become  im- 
possible. According  to  the  length  of  the  sound-waves,  the  series 
may  not  reach  higher  than  o.  If  still  higher  notes  be  taken  for  the 
reed,  more  vowels  will  be  cut  off;  but  the  diminished  cycles  will  con- 
tinue. This  is  the  case  with  the  human  voice,  females  being  unable 
to  pronounce  «^  or  o  on  the  higher  notes.  The  u  is  indefinite  in  its 
length,  that  in  \>ui  seeming  to  he  the  natural  vowel  of  the  reed. 

The  extreme  vowels  i  and  u  are  very  remarkable  for  their  transi- 
tion into  the  semi-vocal  consonants  j  (as  pronounced  in  Germ.,  Ital. ; 
written  y  in  Eng.,  f.  i.,  in  yes)  and  v  (Eng.,  Fr.,  Ital.,  etc. ;  written 
w  in  Germ.,  Slavic,  etc.),  and  also  for  their  substitution  for  gutturals, 
in  very  many  languages.  Some  authors  call  them,  on  this  latter  ac- 
count, vocalized  consonants.  The  Enghsh  w  is  in  reality  a  combination 
of  u  with  V  quickly  uttered ;  and  hence  its  name  of  double  you  is  not 
altogether  a  misnomer ;  for,  although  it  be  not  =  you  -j-  you,  it  is  a 
double  sound.  This  current  view  of  the  power  of  the  English  w,  be- 
sides being  true  only  in  part,  is  another  evidence  of  the  inconsistency 
and  incompleteness  of  the  common  English  system  of  spelling:  for,  if 
one  extreme  of  the  scale  of  true  vowels  snaps  over,  so  to  say,  into 
the  region  of  consonants,  joining  itself  to  its  kindred  consonant 
^w=^uv)',  the  opposite  extreme  does  the  same,  joining  itself  to 
its  congenial  consonant  also  (i.e.  y=ij ;  pronouncing  naturally). 
The  so-called  why  ought,  therefore, — allowing,  for  the  nonce,  the 
name  of  double  you  to  pass, — be  named  double  eye.  It  is,  in  reality, 
a  double  sound,  composed  of  the  vocal  i  and  j  quickly  uttered.  In 
the  names  of  the  months — January,  February,  May,  July,  the  y  stands 
for  u,  the  Lat.  genit.  of  those  words,  lanuarti.  Ma//,  etc.     The  long 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  73 

prong  of  y  betrays  a  y,  written  instead  of  i  by  physicians  thus,  f.  i., 
ounces  \u  (3),  drachms  u  (2).  Most  of  the  terminations  in  -y  repre- 
sent two  original  lettei-s,  f.  i.,  mighty,  pretty,  slimy  (G.  maichtz^,  pra^ch- 
tey,  schleim^y),  etc.,  modesty,  amity,  (Fr.  modest^>,  amitie),  etc., 
glory,  sympathy  (L.  glor^a,  (rufXTrdS^  € ca  o-u/ATra^ta),  etc.  A  third 
error,  committed  with  the  y  in  some  other  languages,  is  its  being  mis- 
named y  grec  in  Fr.,  y  griega  in  Span.,  y  psilon  in  Germ.  The  Ger- 
mans hallucinate  about  their  ^  and  y,  calling  the  former  ^o^  (tcora),  the 
latter  as  stated  (y  xpiXov^  slender),  and  using  it  indifferently  instead  of 
i.  This  poor  y  is  no  more  nor  less  a  Greek  letter,  than  any  other 
Latin  letter  taken  from  the  Greeks.  It  is  legitimately,  however,  used 
to  represent  the  Greek  v  in  words  coming  from  this  language  :  every 
where  else  it  is  either  simply  the  sign  of  the  sound  i  or  of  a  combi- 
nation of  this  with  j  (German)  or  with  another  i  (f.  i.,  Fr.  loyal,  pays, 
which  might  be  written  loual,  pam ;  the  first  i  becoming  a  diphthong 
with  o-  in  loa-jal^  and  melting  into  a  third  neutral  vowel  with  a-  mpe-j). 
We  may  see,  from  this  incomplete  exposition  of  two  vowels  alone, 
the  necessity  of  a  correct  view  of  the  Alphabet,  and  how  the  want  of 
such  a  view  estranges  words  and  whole  languages  from  their  natural 
truthfulness,  as  welJ  as  from  one  another.  Leaving  other  details  for 
the  following  disquisition  on  the  graphic  representations  of  speech,  it 
will  be  useful  to  say  something  on  the  nebular  matter,  if  this  expres- 
sion be  allowed,  from  which  all  sounds  of  the  human  tongue  have 
been  consolidated.  Lepsius  calls  it  the  father  of  all  other  vocals,  and 
glossologists  style  it  "  the  indifferent  vowelP  It  consists  of  a  free, 
easy  breathing  through  the  mouth  ;  is  a  shapeless  (i.  e.  phonetically) 
sigh-like  sound.  It  is  represented  in  Hebrew  by  the  SKva-mohile 
(written  under  the  fii-st  letter  of  its  own  name  fi<3a) ,  as  two  dots ; 
meaning  emptiness)^  it  coincides  almost  with  the  French  efeminin  ou 
muet ;  it  is  inherent  to  all  sounds  of  the  human  voice ;  and  it  is  most 
probably  the  sound  with  which  in  Sanscrit  and  other  Indian  languages 
the  consonants  are  pronounced,  and  which  must  be  silenced  by  a  pe- 
culiar mark  under  the  lettei-s.  Its  mention  here  was  necessary,  be- 
cause it  is  that  very  sound  which  by  being  put  in  the  place  of  all 
other  vowels,  renders  the  words  both  audible  and  intelligible  (see 
above  the  extract  from  Sir  W.  Jones).  We  may  hken  it  to  the  grey 
color.  This  sound  is  not  represented  by  any  particular  letter,  and  we 
shall  mark  it  in  the  sequel,  by  a  -  put  after  the  letter,  thus :  6-,  r-,  or, 
if  not  alluding  to  it  especially,  leave  it  without  any  mark. 


74  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

Here  follows  the  Alphabet,  as  now  used  in  writing  the  German, 
English,  and  with  some  slight  omissions,  the  greatest  number  of  the 
European  languages.  The  reader  is  begged  to  notice  that  not  the 
slightest  alteration  is  made  in  the  series  of  the  letters,  from  that 
which  they  have  been  accustomed  to  from  infancy.  Another — a 
most  serious — request  is  also  made,  NOT  to  give  the  so-called 
NAMES  of  ai,  bee,  sea,  a.  s.  f.,  to  the  letters,  but  to  utter  the  sounds, 
which  they  have  been  contrived  to  designate,  according  to  the  injunc- 
tions repeated  (perhaps  even  ad  nauseam)  over  and  over  again.  Such 
is  the  tyranny  of  habit,  on  the  part  of  the  learners,  and  such  is  the 
experience  in  teaching,  on  the  part  of  the  writer,  in  this  respect,  that 
he  must  pronounce  all  those  who  make  light  of  his  precepts,  as  doom- 
ed to  remain  where  they  are  in  their  knowledge  of  language,  unless 
they  comply  with  his  admonitions  and  prayers ;  unless  they  make  an 
effort  to  attain  what  they  really  intend,  by  strictly  following  up  the 
remarks  on  the  sounds  with  such  attention,  as  to  get  rid  of  the  incu- 
bus of  the  English  miscalled  spelling.  Pronounce  the  vowels  as  they 
sound  in  the  words :  Alabama,  Bethlehem,  MisseWppe,  Ontario,  fwll, 
Ppsilanty ;  and  all  the  consonants  as  6,  c,  d,  g,  j,  k,  p,  q,  t,  v,  z,  are 
now  uttered  with  regard  to  the  order  of  their  sounds,  i.  e.,  beginning 
with  the  articulation  (or  motion,  shake,  touch,  gest  of  the  respective 
organ),  and  not,  as  it  is  now  done  with  /,  h,  Z,  m,  n,  r,  s,  x  (prefixing 
e-  or  a^-),  BUT  exploding  them  with  the  indifferent  vowel,  just  spoken 
of ;  and  pronouncing  c  as  ^  ;  ^  as  ^  in  all  genuine  Anglo-Saxon  (truly 
English)  words,  f  i.,  in  ^et,  ^ive,  r^irdle,  bi^^er ;  y  as  y  in  yes.  Please 
to  shake  your  tongue  in  making  the  sound  marked  by  r,  i.  e.,  rattle 
it  thus,  rrr-  Pronounce  t^;  as  if  it  were  written  uv- ;  both  j  and  y  as 
if  they  were  marked  ij-,  with  one  single  quick  emission  of  the  voice ; 
a;  as  if  it  were  written  ks-. 

Do  not  be  afraid  of  either  losing  your  English,  or  of  being  in  the 
wrong.  People  may  laugh  at  you.  They  ought  to  weep  at  their 
being  so  many  locomotive  towel's  of  Babel,  felones  de  sua  ipsorum  ra- 
tione ;  as  if  they  had  committed  all  the  sins  of  the  Danaids,  of  Sisy- 
phus, Ixion,  and  of  all  backsliders  from  the  path  of  truth  and  justice. 
You  may  easily  remember,  or  learn  that  the  c  is  sometimes  pronounced 
5,  that  g  is  sometimes,  and  ^  always,  heard  as  dz^  (dzh),  etc.  Keep  in 
mind,  that  you  are  learning  the  essence  of  your  language  as  well 
as  that  of  its  kindred  tongues ;  that  the  corruptions  ought  not  to  give 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 


15 


the  law ;  that  these  very  corruptions  vary  and  will  vanish,  as  soon  as 
the  English  nations  will  become  de  facto,  and  not  de  clamore,  what 
they  now  call  themselves,  civilized.  This  will  be  the  cas^when  they 
shall  care  more  about  their  brains  and  hearts,  than  about  their  skins 
and  stomachs ;  when  there  will  be  as  many,  not  gutturists,  labiists, 
linguists  only,  but  also  cerebrists,  and  cordists,  as  there  are  now  dentists. 
Only  by  thus  complying  with  this  necessary  condition  of  progress  can 
the  student  reasonably  hope  to  reach  the  goal ;  only  to  a  sharp  accu- 
rate ear  and  to  a  clean  mouth,  ministeiing  to  a  mind  unclouded  by 
baseless  theories,  will  the  Minerva  of  language  become  perceptible. 
All  the  treasures  garnered  up  by  the  eminent  men,  whose  labors  we 
shall  shortly  notice  in  the  Appendix,  will  become  fully  accessible  to 
the  student  and  to  the  man  of  the  world,  by  the  observance  of  this 
condition  ;  whereas  without  it  all  talent,  all  learning,  all  diligence  are 
destined  to  be,  if  not  paralyzed,  at  least  greatly  reduced. 


ELEMENTS. 


MUSICAL. 

ARTICULATE  LOGIC. 

VOCALS. 

LABIALS. 

GUTTURALS. 

LINGUAL-DENTALS.         | 

A 

B 

c 

D 

E 

F 

G     H 

I      (y) 

;      XT 

J      ^ 

X 

>  Liquids. 
S  T 

% 

3 

I 

o 

p 

Q 

1, 

u 

Tt; 

i 

V 

W          3 

(^) 

z 

Y6  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

Explanation  of  tlie  Alphabet  Table,  The  series  of  letters  is  the 
same  as  that  brought  down  to  our  times  from  the  remotest  antiquity, 
with  all  ]3itk  additions  to  the  original  16  letters  (or  the  so-called 
Cadmean  s]/llabarium),  as  will  appear  from  the  history  of  writing. 
Not  the  figures,  but  the  series  is  meant.  The  table  is  first  divided 
into  two  columnar  regions,  to  wit,  those  of  the  Vowels  and  Consonants. 
The  latter  is  subdivided  into  three  vertical  compartments,  each  con- 
taining the  signs  of  the  sounds,  made  at  the  three  places  where  the 
voice  is  modified,  i.  e.,  by  the  three  principal  parts  of  the  organs  of 
speech.  At  last,  the  third  compartment  is  divided  again  into  the  more 
lingual  and  more  dental  one.  Horizontally  there  are  three  rows  each 
headed  by  a  vowel,  which  are  separated  from  three  lower  rows,  which 
are  also  so  headed,  by  a  vowelless  row.  This  last  row  communicates 
with  the  lingual  column,  so  that  it  makes  with  it  the  central  separa- 
tion between  the  elements ;  it  being  the  liquid,  or  semi-vowel-lake, 
so  to  say.  We  cannot  fail  being  struck  by  the  symmetry  of  this  ar- 
rangement, which  has  escaped  all  observers ;  although  many  pride 
themselves  with  having  remarked  that  vowels  are  followed  by  labials 
these  by  gutturals. — The  letters  in  large  capitals  are  the  signs  of  the 
principal  and  strongest  sounds  :  A  being  the  central  vowel  and  the 
leader  of  the  alphabet,  I,  U  constituting  the  extremes  (see  above), 
while  P,  C  (K,  Q),  T  are  what  is  called  the  tenues  among  the  conso- 
nants. The  letters  in  small  capitals  are  the  consonantes  medicB,  and 
the  secondary  vowels^  viz.  :  b,  g,  d,  e,  o,  together  with  the  double  y. 
The  Italic  letters  denote  the  aspirates,  and  sibilants,  i.  e.,  F,  F,  H,  S, 
Z,  The  Black  Letters  designate  the  liquids.  The  consonant-vowels 
are  given  in  small  letters,  to  show  their  hybridity,  viz.,  ^*,  w.  One 
letter — x — is  cut  in  twain,  thus  showing  what  of  it  belongs  to  the 
gutturals  and  what  to  the  dentals.  H  is  placed  on  the  same  line  with 
the  last-named,  without  being  severed,  in  order  to  show  that  it  belongs 
at  once  to  both  conterminous  columns.  It  is  akin  to  3fi  as  a  nasal 
and  hquid,  to  X  and  E  as  a  liquid,  thus  pro^^ng  to  be  the  friend 
of  all,  while,  in  reality,  it  is  but  a  parasite,  a  faithful  friend  to  none, 
not  even  to  itself.  This  peculiar  letter  is  the  character  for  the  voice, 
when  it  takes  the  upper  passage  through  the  nose  ;  it  evaporates  thus, 
as  it  were,  through  the  air-hole,  or  chimney.  It  is  a  kind  of  electri- 
city in  the  sphere  of  sounds,  represented  in  various  ways  in  the  De- 
van  IgarI  or  Sanscrit  graphic  system,  by  four  letters,  according  to 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  7t 

each  organ,  and  by  a  dot  superscript  to  the  letters,  and  then  called 
Anusvdra.  In  Portuguese  it  is  often  marked  by  a  tilde  ;  in  Arabic, 
by  what  are  called  signs  of  nunnation.  In  Gr.  the  nasal  sound  is 
represented  in  two  ways,  viz. :  by  the  letter  v,  and  before  the  gutturals 
y,  K,  X  by  a  y,  f.  i.,  ayycXos,  messenger.  Taking  the  horizontal  rows 
into  consideration,  we  also  find  analogies  of  different  sorts  between 
their  letters.  The  row  headed  by  a  contains  the  whole  alphabet  po- 
tentially, since  it  exhibits  the  mean  sounds  of  all  elements,  if  we  re- 
member that  in  the  place  of  c  the  Phcenician,  Hebrew,  Greek,  and 
other  kindred  alphabets,  had  the  gimel  or  garnma^  which  now  stands 
in  the  second  row.  The  other  sounds  range  both  above  and  below 
the  four  lettei-s  in  question,  i.  e.,  the  i  and  u  with  respect  to  a  ;  the  p 
and  /  relatively  to  h  ;  the  c  (^,  q)  and  the  A,  as  to  the  original  y ; 
and  the  t  and  5,  as  to  d.  It  may  be  said  that  this  row  is  the  essence 
of  the  alphabet^  and  that  the  lettei-s  placed  under  each  of  its  four 
charactei-s  are  but  so  many  varieties  of  these.  The  second  row  is 
very  remarkable  for  the  manifold  connexions  between  its  lettei-s.  Let 
us  begin  with  English.  We  write :  lau^A,  rough,  enough,  etc.,  but 
w^e  pronounce  la/,  ra/,  luof ;  we  write  sha/t,  a/ler,  where  the  Germans 
write  schacAt,  the  Holland.  acAter ;  we  WTite  s\gh,  pronouncing  sai, 
which  means  in  G.  seu/-zer,  and  which  is  related  to  Lat.  sin^-ultus. 
It  has  been  said  that  in  the  old  alphabet  g  stood  where  now  c  stands  : 
now,  where  the  English  write  gh  the  German  put  ch  (f.  i.,  sight,  thoug'At, 
G.  sicAt,  ge-dacAt,  etc.).  In  Spanish  we  have  Aermoso,  Aierro,  Fer- 
nandez, etc.,  from/ormosus,/errum,  i^ernandez ;  but  also  Aermano  for 
L.  ^ermanus,  brother  (germain,  not  German !)  Furthemiore,  wher- 
ever the  Russians  have  g,  many  Slavins  use  h,  thus :  R.  ^ora,  S.  Aura, 
mountain  ;  R.  ^olova,  S.  /ilava,  head,  etc.,  thus  from  ancient  Falicz 
(pron.  Halitsh)  we  have  now  6^alicia  (a  country  rich  in  salt ;  Gr.  aXs 
salt,  sea ;  Gr.  jSTalle,  the  name  of  many  towns  and  other  places  pos- 
sessing salt-mines.  This  is  not  enough.  The  digamma  (double  ^), 
on  which  so  much  learning  has  been  expended  by  Greek  scholars,  finds 
here  its  simplest  solution  :  the  F  showing  by  its  very  shape  a  double  V 
and  its  relation  in  sound  to  our  A,  which  in  Greek  was  represented  by 
.the  spiritus  asper  Q,  f.  i.,  in  the  above  aXs  (Aals). — The  genetic  con- 
f  nexion  between  i  (y)  and  j,  and  their  peculiar  relation  to  the  guttur- 
lals  have  already  been  shown.  Remember  «he  lake  of  the  liquids  m, 
^  *  n,  I,  r.     In  the  fifth  row  the  presence  of  q,  which  is  not  found  in  the 


Z$  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

later  (so-called  classical)  Greek  and  whose  relation  to  c  and  k  (as  will 
be  soon  explained),  shifts  these  otherwise  frequent  two  letters  into  an 
apparently  false  light.  We  find,  however,  the  L.  eguus  and  ittttos 
(JEol.  tKKos:)^  L.  a^-iia,  Valach.  apa,  etc.  In  consideration  of  that 
obliquity,  we  must  be  permitted  to  place,  on  the  account  of  this  row, 
the  common  foi*ms  ttotc,  ttws,  irolos,  ottotc/dos,  ottoo-ol,  alongside  of  the 
-^Eol.  and  Ion.  k6t€,  kcus,  koios,  6/coTcpo9,  okowol.  The  Lat.  ^'uis  is  Gr. 
Its.  With  regard  to  r  and  s  and  to  s  and  t,  we  need  but  mention  the 
ancient  forms  Valerius,  Fu^ius,  Papi«ius  and  arbos,  hono5,  labo5,  vapo5, 
clamor,  la^es,  etc.,  which  became  Valerius,  Funus,  Papirius,  arbor,  ho- 
nor, labor,  vapor,  clamor,  lares,  etc.,  to  show  the  convertibility  of  s  into 
r  ;  and,  as  for  s  and  t,  the  Greek  and  German  furnish  us  a  supera- 
bundance of  proofs,  thus :  yAujo-o-a,  yAcoTra  ;  Trpdaao},  Trpdrro} ;  etc., 
G.  da5,  tha^;  e^,  i^;  wa5,  whai;  wa^^er,  wa^er ;  besser,  be^/er ;  ess-en^ 
ea^;  etc. — In  the  sixth  row  we  find  the  antipode,  so  to  say,  and  the 
correlation  to  the  i-row,  already  explained  above. 

Tlie  whole  arrangement,  in  short,  and  all  the  signatures  which  we 
find  in  the  above  table,  are  fraught  with  deep  significance.  It  will 
be  asked,  why  are  there  three  letters  to  represent  the  hard  guttural 
sound  k  ?  The  reason  is  found  in  the  history  of  the  Alphabet.  Origi- 
nally the  alphabet  was  a  syllabarium,  as  in  ^thiopic,  DevanSgari, 
and  some  other  systems  of  wnting ;  so  that,  at  one  time,  k  stood  for 
the  syllable  ka  (f.  i.,  A:lenda?,  to  be  read  X:alendse),  c  for  ci,  ce  (so  that 
Cicero  might  have  been  written  Ccro)  and  q  for  qo,  qu.  From  this 
circumstance,  betraymg  a  variety  in  the  utterance,  we  are  further 
convinced  of  the  relative  value  of  the  five  vowels.  For,  thus,  k  is 
shown  to  be  related  to  the  a  (the  leader  of  the  alphabet),  and,  there- 
fore, to  be  the  chief  of  the  gutturals,  indeed,  the  only  k  found  in 
the  classic  Greek ;  c  is  brought  under  the  suspicion  of  having  been  of 
a  more  slender  sound,  being  the  companion  of  the  slender  vowels  i 
and  e  ;  while  q  is  shown  to  have  been  the  harshest  guttural,  associa- 
ting with  the  dull,  heavy  u  and  o,  without  the  former  of  which  it 
very  seldom  occurs  in  the  languages  of  the  Aryan  family  (f.  i.,  French 
cing',  C05').  Even  the  so-called  names  of  these  three  letters  in  the 
English  way  of  spelling  allude  to  that  peculiarity  since  the  c  is  named 
see  (=si),  the  k^  ka  (=ke),  and  the  q^  ku  (=kyoo).  Another  evi- 
dence of  the  fact,  that  the  managers  of  the  English  spelling  heard, 
as  the  German  proverb  has  it,  "  the  sounding  of  a  bell,  without  know- 


SOUNDS  AND  LEITERS.  79 

ing  where  the  sound  came  from."  To  this  must  be  attributed  also 
the  cause  disposing  to  the  ill-treatment  of  the  c  before  e,  i,  by  the  mod- 
ern nations  of  Europe.  To  the  French,  Portuguese  and  English  it 
became  tantamount  to  s  ;  to  the  Spaniards  a  more  lisped  sound  than 
the  Engl,  th  in  tK\^ ;  to  the  Germans  equal  to  ts  (their  z)  ;  to  the 
Italians  a  tsh  ;  not  only  in  their  own  languages,  but  even  in  the  Latin 
and  every  where  else,  where  they  find  ce,  ci.  Hence  Kikero  (the  real 
one)  is  now  S\sero,  and  TkitherOy  and  T'^i^sero,  and  Tshitsherone ; 
hence  ^elt  is  now  >S^elt,  TAelt,  Tselt,  Tshelta.  If  somebody,  with  the 
view  of  remedying  this  Babylonism,  were  to  write  Chkhero,  Chelt,  the 
Enghshman  would  again  make  out  of  it  Tshitshero  (unknowingly  that 
he  italianizes) ;  a  Spaniard  would  do  the  same  (thus  concurring  here 
with  the  Englishman) ;  a  German  would  say,  with  a  deep  guttural 
aspiration,  stronger  than  the  Engli^  h  in  Aook,  Xtxcpo),  XcAt  (which 
the  Englishman  might  be  tempted  to  utter  as  ksiksero,  kselt) ;  while 
the  Italian  (without  suspecting  that  he  was  in  the  ancient  truth)  would 
pronounce  Kikero,  Thus,  from  Nothing,  on  account  of  Nothing, — 
nay,  from  very  Much,  i.  e.,  from  a  stubborn  resistance  to  truth,  from 
an  unconquerable  negligence  to  search  for  truth, — all  this  slipping, 
sliding,  marching,  counter-marching,  meeting  and  running  asunder  of 
the  nations,  about  the  ancient  fountain  of  good  taste,  is  being  kept  up  as 
something  sacred :  to  the  greatest  detriment,  not  only  of  an  easy  ac- 
quisition of  languages,  but  also, — what  is  worse, — of  good  mental 
habits  in  all  the  departments  of  hfe  !  A  slight  pressure  on  some 
parts  of  the  brain  often  produces  epilepsy,  catalepsy,  or  some  other 
dreadful  disease  ;  a  slight  puncture  often  causes  the  tetanus  or  lock- 
jaw ;  a  drop  of  hydrocyanic  acid  is  lethal :  how  should  such  senseless 
dislocations  of  sounds,  lettere,  and  ideas  remain  without  baneful  con- 
sequences to  the  life  of  humanity  ?  (See  pp.  10,  11,  sqq.,  34.) 

In  the  next  chapter  the  genetic,  organic  and  harmonic  significance 
of  the  sounds, — and,  consequently,  lettei-s, — will  be  given,  in  the  triple 
connexion  with  the  categories  of  the  phenomena  of  the  external  world, 
with  the  images  or  ideas  aroused  by  them  in  our  mind,  and  with  the 
exertion  of  the  organs  of  speech,  in  giving  utterance  to  those  impressions. 

A    SUCCINCT    HISTORY    OF   WRITING. 

As  the  question,  whetlier  the  JEGYPTIANS  or  the  CHINESE 
>vere  the  first  to  make  use  of  visible  signs,  in  order  to  represent  what 


80  BOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

they  thought  or  spoke,  is  yet  an  open  one  it  is  best  to  begin  with 
the  former.  From  the  gramt-stele  (aTrjkr)^  L.  cippus)  or  so-called 
stone  of  Rosetta  (found  by  Bouchard,  1799),  with  three  different 
inscriptions  (viz. :  hieroglyphic  or  sacred,  demotic  or  cursive,  and 
Greek)  containing,  in  two  languages,  a  decree  of  the  pnesthood  of 
Memphis,  in  honor  of  king  Ptolemaeus  Epiphanes,  the  Swede  Acker- 
BLAD  and,  after  him.  Dr.  Young,  found  the  key  for  deciphering  the 
Egyptian  language,  after  many  unsuccessful  attempts  of  former  in- 
quirers. But  the  inward  nature  of  the  wnting,  its  relations  to  the 
spoken  language,  the  number,  essence  and  combinations  of  its  funda- 
mental elements  yet  remained  hypothetic.  Young  did  not  separate 
sharply  the  demotic  or  enchorial  writing,  from  the  genuine  cureive 
found  in  the  non-hieroglyphic  textes  written  on  papyri ;  which  Cham- 
poLLioN  Junior  ascertained  to  be  hieratic  or  sacerdotal.  Young  be- 
lieved, with  the  French  commission,  that  all  demotic  characters  on 
that  stele,  were  alphabetic ;  but  he  asserted  afterwards,  that  the  de- 
motic writing,  as  well  as  that  on  the  hieratic  papyri,  belonged,  as  the 
primitive  (hieroglyphic)  does,  to  a  system  composed  of  pure  ideo- 
graphic charactei-s.  Convinced,  nevertheless,  that  the  gi-eatest  part 
of  the  proper  nouns  of  the  Rosetta-stone  were  somewhat  legible  with 
the  help  of  the  alphabet  of  Ackerblad,  he  concluded  that  the  -^Egyp- 
tians transcribed  only  foreign  proper  names,  as  the  Chinese  do, 
by  means  of  ideographic  signs,  turned,  from  their  ordinary  use,  into 
accidental  tokens  of  sounds.  His  analysis  of  two  names  (Ptolemy 
and  Berenice)  remained  without  results. 

Ciiampollion  finds  the  truth  between  the  two  extreme  hy}X)theses, 
i.  e.,  that  the  entire  system  of  ^Egyptian  writing  was  simultaneously 
both  ideographic  and  phonetographic  ;  that  the  latter  is  of  the  nature 
of  our  letters,  not  limited  to  proper  nouns,  but  forming  the  bulk  of 
the  hieroglyphic,  hieratic,  and  demotic  textes,  representing  the  sounds 
of  the  Egyptian  tongue.  This  was  essentially  the  same  with  the 
present  living  Coptic,  In  the  primitive  orthography,  medial  vowels 
were  frequently  omitted.  Ideographic  (symbolic)  characters  were 
mingled  with  the  phonographs.  Mosheh  [Acts  vii.  22  ;  Exod.,  espe- 
cially chap,  xvi.)  renewed  the  most  ancient  theocratic  form  of  the 
Egyptian  government,  unwilling  that  his  people  should  become  alto- 
gether nomadic  again,  as  their  forefathei's  had  been ;  he  strove  to 
conquer  the  promised  land,  and  to  make  them  agriculturists  and  fix 


BOUNDS  AND  LETTERS,  81 

lliem  by  all  the  arts  of  industry.  Though  establishing  a  religion  es- 
seiitijilly  difFerent  from  the  Egyptian,  he  preserved  many  outward 
ceremonies  borrowed  from  the  Nile. — In  another  direction,  the  influ- 
ence of  Egyptian  culture  penetrated  into  Nubia  and  Ethiopia :  wit- 
ness the  bass-reliefs  of  Isambul  and  Beit-Ually.  Military  expeditions 
and  embassies  produced  various  relations  with  other  nations  of  Asia, 
besides  the  Jews.  Many  wise  Greeks  had  journeyed  into  Egypt. 
The  Platonic  school  itself  is  but  JEgyptism,  issued  from  the  sanctua- 
ries of  Safs,  and  the  ancient  Pythagorean  sect  propagated  pyscholo- 
gic  theories,  whose  prototypes  may  be  found  in  the  pictures  and  sa- 
cred legends  on  the  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs  of  Thebes,  in  the  farthest 
desei-ted  valley  of  Biban-el-Malouk. 

Images^  pictures  of  visible  objects  (iconography)  were  the  origi- 
nal writing,  called  in  Coptic  sack  ne  nenoute  (ypa/x/xara  U/oa).  Hiero- 
glyphs were  either  engraved  or  painted,  and  were  afterwards  distin- 
guished into  linear^  and  compendiary  hieratic  signs.  These  two,  with 
the  demotic  charactei-s,  are  improvements  on  the  original  uncouth 
sculptures.  With  all  monuments  yet  remaining,  it  is  in  vain  to  try 
to  find  the  rudiments  of  the  infancy  of  writing ;  since  the  present 
monuments  belong  mostly  to  a  period  of  restored  civilization^  which 
had  been  destroyed  by  an  invasion  of  barbarians,  2000  years  before 
our  era.  Before  that  invasion  the  monuments  were  perfect;  and 
under  Sesostris  began  the  dechne  which  continued  under  Sabacon 
and  the  Saites,  increased  under  the  Lagides  and  became  complete 
under  the  Romans.  The  series  of  the  images^  without  regard  to 
their  specific  value,  may  be  put  into  16  classes:  \^  celestial  bodies ; 
2,  man  ;  3,  members  of  the  human  body ;  4,  quadruped  animals ; 
b^  birds;  Q^  reptiles ;  ^^  fishes;  S^  insects ;  ^^ plants ;  10^  garments 
and  ornaments  of  the  body ;  11,  furniture^  weapons^  etc.;  12,  ves- 
sels ;  13,  tools;  14 J  buildings  SLwd  other  products  of  arts  ;  15,  geo- 
metric figures,  and  objects  now  unknoivn  ;  1 6,  monster s,  compound 
of  incongruous  parts  of  animals. 

All  these  images  may  be  reduced  to  about  900,  and  some  among 
these  may  be  but  variations.  The  monumental  writing  is  threefold : 
colorless  glyphs,  or  painted  glyphs,  or,  sketches  in  black  or  red,  painted 
over  mostly  with  natural  colore.  On  sarcophagi,  steles,  etc.,  withiess 
detailed  inscriptions,  the  colors  of  the  objects  are  rather  conventional. 

With  the  development  of  society,  the  ancient  images  became 
5 


82  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

more  and  more  reduced  to  mere  sketches  {linear  Jderoglyphs)^  which 
may  be  compared  with  the  most  ancient  Chinese  and  Mexican  figures. 
These  compendia  were  executed  with  characteristic  truthfulness  to  the 
shape  of  the  objects,  and  occur  usually  in  books,  traced  in  red  or 
black  ink,  on  smoothed  leaves  of  papyrus,  which  are  pasted  together 
at  the  ends.  These  were  afterwards  foi-med  into  volumes  (rolls,  Copt. 
dz'om  dz^oome).  There  were  three  sorts  of  papyrus :  the  royal,  hie- 
ratic and  demotic.  Linen,  parchment  and  rough  stones  were  also  em- 
ployed as  materials  to  write  upon.  Reeds  (Copt,  cas')  or  brushes 
(should  be  called  ^enc?75,  Copt,  cas^amfoi)  were  used  for  tracing  the 
charactei-s. — Another  abbreviation  produced  the  hieratic  writing, 
which  was  more  easily  traceable  and  was  employed  by  the  enlighten- 
ed class,  vaguely  called  the  sacerdotal.  This  writing  was  fouifold, 
viz. :  1,  only  a  little  more  simple  than  the  linear  hieroglyphs  ;  2,  con- 
sisting of  partial  sketches ;  3,  imitating  still  fewer  details  of  the 
original ;  4,  so  distant  from  hiei'oglyphs,  as  to  seem  to  be  almost  ar- 
bitrarily contrived.  Linear  hieroglyphs  were  either  placed  in  vertical 
descending  columns,  or  in  horizontal  rows,  from  right  to  left  or  from 
left  to  right.  Most  hieroglyphic  books  exhibit  either  columns  from 
right  to  left  or  horizontal  lines  in  cither  direction ;  with  figTu-es  in 
pail's  or  three  and  three :  whereas  the  hieratic  writings  almost  con- 
stantly run  in  a  horizontal  direction  from  right  to  left.  Some  funeral 
manuscripts  have  hieroglyphs  mixed  with  hieratic  charactei-s. 

As  to  the  mode^  of  representation,  the  hieroglyphs  are  of  three 
classes ;  1,  the  mimic  or  portraits  of  the  objects  (/xe^o8:>s  KvpioXoyLicrj 
Kara  fjil^rjaLv  of  Clemens  Alexandrinus) ;  2,  trojnc  (symbolic)  ex- 
pressive of  abstract  ideas,  by  means  of  true  or  supposed  relations  be- 
tween them  and  the  objects,  thus,  a  part  for  the  whole,  f.  i.,  two  arms 
with  a  buckler  and  javelin  =  army,  combat ; — the  cause  for  the  effect  and 
vice  vers&,  f.  i.,  ttvo  eyes  =io  see,  sw7i  =  day,  sky  and  5/a;'= night ; — or 
metaphoric,  f.  i.,  7ia?^^^  =  sublimity,  hawFs  <??/c  =  sight, contemplation; 
vulture  (believed  to  nourish  his  young  with  his  own  blood)  =  mother ; 
lion  =  superiority  ;  bee  =  king ;  crocodile = wickedness ;  fy  =  impu- 
dence; aw^  =  wisdom,  eel  (shimning  company  of  other  fishes)  == 
wretch,  C2VcZe==  eternity,  open  7ianc/= liberality,  closed  fist  ^=^Mmc^^ 
shaJcal  over  aii  aZ^ar= priest  watching  the  sanctuary; — some  were 
quite  senigmatic  (riddles),  f.  i.,  ostrich-feather  (all  in  the  wing  sup- 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  %$ 

posed  to  be  of  equal  length)  ==  justice,  ibis  (a  scythe*-beaked  wading- 
bird)==god  Thoth,  analogous  to  Hermes;  palm-branch  (supposed  to 
send  forth  12  branches  a  year,  eveiy  month  one)  =  year;  iris  (or 
gladiolus,  sword-lily)  or  ivhite  (uight-cap-like)  crown =\ji)\)er-JEgyi)% 
papyrus  or  red  (chair-like)  croz^Jw  =  Lower-^gypt,  both  crowns  =^ 
both  pharaohs  (kings),  darting-viper  (ovpaio^  of  Horapollo^  which 
Zoega  derives  from  Copt,  wro,  spectacle-snake),  sometimes  crowned 
»=goddess-mother,  or  (according  to  the  kind  of  crown),  queen  of 
either  ^gypt;  Phoenix  with  man''s  arms^  as  if  worshipping = -pure 
spirits,  in  the  last  period  of  metempsychosis;  parti-colored  basket  =» 
lord,  master ;  Sphinx  (Copt,  osr)  =  physic  with  moral  power,  lord. — 
Some  of  the  signs  were  secret  and  occur  in  the  texts  of  the  1 9th  and 
20th  dynasty. 

Phonetic  characters  were  much  more  frequently  employed,  than 
any  of  the  previous.  They  did  not  form  a  syllabary,  but  were  real 
letters,  commemorative  of  sounds.  They  were  denominated  (not  as 
in  the  English  Palladium  of  Babel)  by  words  whose  iii-st  sound  was 
recalled  by  them,  having  been  derived  from  hieroglyphs  of  the  ob- 
jects bearing  that  name,  f.  i.,  ake  (in  another  dialect  oke),  reed-leaf== 
a;  coi  camp,  or  daft  head-cover  =  ^ ;  mouladz',  night-owl  =m; 
Zavo,  Honess==Z;  ro,  mouther;  5ar,  goose  or  sioii,  star=5;  s'ei, 
a  basin  of  water =5'  (Engk  sh) ;  tot,  hand==^;  ^ore,  scarabaeus 
(beetle)  =  Engl,  th  ;  nat,  navew  =  7^,  etc.  In  later  times,  under  the 
Lagides  and  Caesars,  several  names,  but  all  beginning  with  the  proper 
sound,  were  given  to  the  lettei-s ;  which  proved  to  be  a  source  of  de- 
tei-ioration  or  rather  its  effect.  We  show  sovereign  contempt  for  an- 
tiquity and  for  truth,  in  not  even  condescending  to  imitate  this  gi-eat 
yet  simple,  therefore,  sublime,  principle  which  was  practised  upon  as 
long  as  4000  yeai-s  ago  on  the  Nile.  Our  Supineness  overtops  the 
pyi'amids  of  the  Pharaohs !  Our  faragos  of  pedantry  are  woree  than 
those  locusts  darkening  the  land ;  because  they  darken  our  under- 
standing and  hearing  (comp.  Exod.  x.  14,  15).     These   latter  were 


*  Noah  Webstrr  has  :  "  Scythe.  A  wrong  spelling-.  See  Si/fhe."  Would 
it  not  be  better  to  say  :  "  Sijl/ie.  A  wrong  way  of  writing.  See  Scythe  ?"  In 
either  form  the  present  pronunciation  is  the  same  ;  but  .'^cythc  comes  from 
L.  se-cat,  s-cind-  i.  e.  to  s-  (under)  -j-  cut !  and  belongs  to  tlie  family  of  scis- 
sors, scar,  share,  shears,  shire,  etc. 


M  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

but  temporary,  abhorred,  and  destroyed  ;  the  former  are  stereotyped, 
cherislied,  and  petted.     Vive  Tabbe  Tise  ! 

As  to  the  vowels,  their  sounds  were  as  little  fixed  by  characters  as 
in  Hebr.  or  Arabic ;  most  of  them  having  been  omitted  within  the 
words,  although  they  are  now  written  in  Coptic.  Aspirates  of  our 
time  were  written  with  the  same  signs  as  their  coiTesponding  simple 
articulations;  I  was  indifferently  employed  instead  of  r :  so  that  the 
three  dialects  i.  e.  the  Memphitic,  Bashmuric  and  Sahidic,  as  we  find 
them  now  in  Coptic  books,  were  not  indicated  in  the  ancient  glyphs 
and  charactei-s.  This  is  one  proof  more,  that  the  simple  articulate 
sounds  are  the  germs  of  later  weakened,  aspirated,  squeezed,  so  to 
say — smashed  sounds  in  all  languages. 

With  the  adoption  of  Christianity,  the  .^Egyptians  forsook  their 
ancient  national  writing  and  adopted  the  Greek  alphabet  of  24  letters^ 
to  which  they  added  six  characters  for  their  own  peculiar  sounds,  i.  e. 
for  s*  (Engl.  sA),/  (the  Greek  ^  sounding  like  jo-A  in  hap-Aazard),  kh 
(deep  guttural,  Arab,  .w  kaf),  A,  for  the  compound  sounds  dz'  (in 
Engl,  gentle),  ts,  and  for  the  syllable  {ti  not  teye  !) ;  all  taken  from 
their  monumental  charactei-s.  Warburton  believed  to  have  found 
the  origin,  and  to  have  traced  the  progress  of  symbolic  figures,  as 
they  gradually  became  lettei-s.  His  supposition  was  correct,  but  he 
had  no  means  of  proving  it  so  clearly  as  later  .^yptologists  have 
done. 

Iccmograrphy^  i.  e.^  the  tracing  of  the  figures  of  objects,  for  the 
purpose  of  communing  with  othei*s,  w^as  the  oingnnal  mode  of  the 
CHINESE.  It  has  been  developed  to  a  considerable  degree  of  'pho- 
nography^  notwithstanding  the  peculiar  nature  of  their  languages. 
The  Chinese  words  do  not  coalesce  into  compounds ;  they  are  all 
monosyllabic  and  terminate  in  either  oral  or  nasal  vowels.  Only  in 
the  Canton  and  some  other  impure  dialects,  some  words  end  in  con- 
sonants. 

All  Chinese  characters  are  divided  into  the  following  six  classes : 

1.  Only  about  200  characters  ^vq  pure  images  representing  visible 
objects  {iconography)^  f  i.,  the  sun,  moon,  a  tree,  etc. ;  the  onginal 
pictures  of  which  have  been  altered  into  linear  signs,  and  inserted 
among  the  214  keys  or  radical  signs  [Poo  tiibunals)  of  which  again 
all  the  usual  charactei-s  are  composed.  2.  Combinations  or  groups 
of  those  pure  images  became  symbols  of  other  objects  or  conceptions, 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  85 

with  which  they  have  a  natural  analogy,  thus  snn  and  ?7ioon= light, 
splendor;  bird  and  7noutk==h\vd-sor)g;  ei/e  and  water  =  teiiTs>'^  door 
and  ear  =  to  hear;  3  men  =  to  follow;  7nan  on  a  Az7Z  =  hermit ; 
house  and  /i(?ar^==^ temple;  ivoman,  hand  and  6room  =  matron,  etc. 
Some  of  these  are  phonetic,  and  their  number  is  not  great.  3.  Sif/ns 
prope?'  expressing  shapeless  things,  f.  i.,  a  horizontal  lme=l^  2  hori- 
zontal lines  =^2,  3  such  lines  =S,  1  such  line  and  dot  above  =  3hovey 
up,  superior ;  the  same  with  dot  below  ==  uudei\  beneath,  below,  infe- 
rior; a  circle  bisected  =  middle.  4.  Other  few  signs  become  signifi- 
cant by  their  inverted  direction^  opposition,  f.  i.,  a  three-forked  figure 
towards  left  =  \di  side,  the  same  in  opposite  direction  =  right;  line 
of  sitting  ma7^  =  living  man,  etc.  5.  Metaphoric  or  borrowed  char- 
■acters,  significant  by  association  of  ideas  in  various  ways,  can  be  call- 
ed ideographic^  f.  i.,  a  squinting  eye  of  which  the  iris  cannot  be  seen 
=  white  ;  a  spr outing-plant =io  grow,  to  originate,  begin  ;  2  muscle- 
shells  =  fiends,  companions;  house=  man;  room  =  woman;  heart= 
spirit,  intelligence;  Aa/^c?  =  artist,  mechanic,  etc.  6.  The  graphic 
characters  called  hi^'-shi"'  (with  n  nasal  as  in  French,  but  without  al- 
tering the  sound  of  i  as  in  the  French  word  fin^  which  sounds  /e" 
through  the  nose),  i.  e.,  images  and  sounds^  constituting  at  least  29. 
of  all  signs  now  in  use,  consist  of  a  phonetic  element^  which  betokens 
a  multi-significant  group  of  sounds,  and  of  an  ideographic  element^  by 
which  the  former  is  referred  to  a  specific  category  of  conceptions. 

As  regards  the  phonetic  momentum  in  Chinese  characterography, 
only  some  images  have  been  chosen  to  represent  sounds.  But  since 
of  the  very  few  words  or  syllables  of  the  language  (=450)  each  has 
many  significations,  the  said  ideographic  sign  must  restrict  it  to  the 
proper  category  of  ideas,  which  it  has  to  express.  Both  modify  or 
neutralize  each  other,  f.  i.,  the  character  for  ship  signifies,  Avith  that 
of  water =has>m  ;  with  char.  5jt?eec/i  =  talkativeness;  with  char.  fire= 
flickering ;  with  char,  horse = a  certain  kind  of  swift  hoi-se  ;  with  char. 
i^ayow= carriage-pole;  with  char.  an-o?^>  =  little  hunting  javelin; 
with  char,  silk-thread =8i\k-co\ev ;  with  chm\  plant^  or  fish,  etc.=a 
certain  kind  of  plant,  fish,  etc.  All  these  significations  are  denoted 
to  the  ear  by  one  single  word  tseu,  ship. 

Almost  every  syllable  is  denoted  by  several,  some  by  many  pho- 
netic signs,  owing  to  the  extraordinary  number  of  meanings  conveyed 
by  some  words  ;  yet  according  to  fixed  rules.     Some  combinations 


86  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

would  be  incompatible.  Ideographico-phonetic  siorns  are  also  used,  in 
their  turn,  as  new  neutral  phonetographs^  modif)nng  other  characters, 
f.  i.,  the  compound  char,  of  moving^  touching^  scratching^  in  being 
joined  with  char.  moutk=^ to  sing;  with  char,  heart  =^ to  have  pity; 
char,  of  measure  with  char,  of  knife  =*  to  cut  off;  with  char,  heart = to 
opine  ;  with  char.  tree=y\\\iige.  Horn ophonous  syllables  often  decide 
a  similarity  of  such  combinations. 

Besides  the  characters  which  have  been  deduced  from  the  real, 
though  uncouth  pictures  of  visible  objects  in  nature,  a  legend  attri- 
butes to  the  great  Fu-hi^  the  invention  of  the  so-called  Tadpole-  and 
Bird-tracJcs-writings^  occasioned  by  the  contemplation  of  constellations 
and  of  tracks  of  birds  and  other  animals  on  sand  and  mud.  These 
are  said  to  have  been  preceded  by  a  marking  or  writing  with  knots, 
in  a  manner  similar  to  that  of  the  Quipos  of  the  Peruvians  or  of  the 
Wampum  of  other  Americans.  A  more  easy  and  pleasant  graphic 
system  was  the  one  called  Siao  ts'hua'',  which  was  in  use  from  the 
time  of  Confucius  (600  years  b.  c.)  to  that  of  the  ^aw-dynasty  (200 
A.  c),  and  which  diffei-s  from  the  charactei-s  now  in  use  by  stiffness, 
on  account  of  its  having  been  engraved  on  metals,  stones,  or  traced 
by  reeds  on  palm-leaves.  To  these  succeeded  the  Li-shou,  which 
diffei-s  from  the  one  now  in  use  by  coarseness,  having  been  executed 
by  wooden  styles  upon  hnen  and  silk.  Paper  was  first  made  under 
the  Tsm-dy nasty  (3d  century  a.  c),  the  result  of  which  invention 
was  the  graceful  Kiaihshou,  written  with  paint-brushes.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  10th  century,  the  invention  of  the  Art  of  Printing 
caused  again  stiffness  in  the  raised  characters,  because  they  were  en- 
graved on  wood ;  this  we  now  find  in  books.  It  is  called  SiC'pc^ ; 
whereas  the  light  writing  on  smoothed  paper,  made  by  touches  of  the 
paint-brush,  is  named  Hi"shou.  A  kind  of  tachygraphy  or  cursive- 
writing,  with  compendiary  characters,  but  with  many  perplexing 
flourishes,  is  also  in  use  since  the  8d  century  of  our  era 

Between  4*79  and  556  a.  c,  a  priest  of  Fo  [Buddha)  has  intro- 
duced, from  India,  genuine  phonography,  the  charactei's  of  which,  as 
applied  to  the  Mandarin  dialect,  consist  of  36  initial  signs  in  9  classes, 
and  of  45  terminal  signs  in  2  classes,  with  2  subdivisions  each.  These 
are  sufficient,  as  the  Chinese  words  consist  but  of  an  initial  consonant 
and  a  following  vowel  or  diphthong.  Excepting  the  complication  of 
the  charactei-s,  the  principle  was  the  same  as  that  claimed  by  Mr,  L 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  87 

Pitman,  as  an  invention.  The  9  classes  of  the  initials  are,  as  follows : 
1,  gutturals^  Jc,  Jch^  k  (softer),  ng  ;  2,  dent  t,  th,  t  (soft),  w;  3,  jxilaL 
ts\  tslij  ts^  (soft),  'n  ;  4  and  5,  labials,  jt?,  and  f,ph  and  fh,p  and  / 
(soft),  m  and  v  ;  6,  sihil,  ts,  ts-h,  ts  (soft),  s,  ss  ;  T,  palato-dent.  its\ 
tts'h,  its'  (soft),  s'  (soft),  s'  (Engl.  6'^)  ;  8,  aspirates  :  mere  breathing, 
A,  y,  another  h;  9,  semivowels,  I,  dz'  (Engl,  ^j^in),  A  comparison  with 
the  Devandgari  {Sanscrit  writing  ;  see  below)  will  show  the  differ- 
ences from  that  prototype.  There  is  no  R  sound  in  Chinese.  The 
3d  sound  in  each  class,  as  well  as  one  5'  and  one  A,  differ  from  the 
corresponding  precedent  so  imperceptibly,  that  Europeans  cannot  ex- 
actly seize  the  difference.  We  miss  also  our  medice  :  6,  g,  d  ;  but  we 
find  3  71  of  which  ng  is,  like  in  ki^^,  rather  a  compound.  The  ter- 
minal oral  and  nasal  vowels  and  dipJithongs,  together  with  the  ac- 
cents or  intonations  throw  a  great  light  on  the  phonetics  of  language : 
but  we  cannot  dwell  on  them  in  detail,  and  can  only  observe  that 
much  can  be  learned  even  from  the  Chinese,  whom  we  commonly 
hold  worthy  but  of  ridicule.  Abel-Remusat,  Stan.  Julien,  Steph. 
Endlicher,  have  most  promoted  the  study  of  Chinese  in  Europe. 

The  JAPANESE  employ  a  syllabary  of  50  signs,  which  is  divided 
into  9  classes  in  the  following  order:  1,  vowels  :  a,  e,  z,  0,  u  ;  2,  lab. 
fa,  fe,  fi,  fo\  fu  ;  3,  gutturals  :  Jca,  he,  hi,  ho,  hu  ;  4,  labial-nasal, 
ma,  me,  mi,  mo,  mu  ;  5,  dental-sibilants  :  ssa,  sse,  ssi,  sso,  ssu  ;  6, 
semi-vowels  :  ya,  ye,  yi,  yo,  yu  ;  '7,  dentals  :  ta,  te,  tsi,  to,  tsu  ;  8, 
Unguals  :  ra,  re,  ri,  ro,  ru  ;  9,  nasal :  na,  ne,  ni,  no,  nu  ;  n'a,  rCe^ 
nH,  n!o,  TbU  (analogous  to  the  Sanscnt  gutturo-nasal).  They  use  also 
a  system  of  ideographic  signs,  very  similar  to  that  of  the  Chinese.  A 
kind  of  stereotypography,  by  means  of  wood-blocks,  has  been  known 
in  Japan  since  very  remote  time.  The  direction  of  writing  is  in  down- 
ward-columns, as  in  China. 

The  SANSKRTTA  (completely  made,  adorned,  purified)  language 
is  written  in  the  characters  which  are  in  use  for  the  spoken  dialects  in 
different  parts  of  India.  All  are  derived  from  the  DEVANA^GARF 
(Deorum  urbs,  city  of  the  gods),  which  appears  to  have  undergone 
various  modifications  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  down  to  the  Vth  or 
8th  century,  when  the  signs  assumed  the  form  in  which  they  now 
occur.  This  is  not  an  alphabet,  inasmuch  as  it  does  not  begin  with 
Alpha,  Beta.  The  sounds  and  letters  do  not  perfectly  coincide  ac- 
cording to  the  strictest  exigencies  of  phonography,  if  this  be  taken  in 


SB,  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

the  sense  that  for  each  sound  there  should  be  a  letter  only,  and  that 
each  letter  should  represent  one  sound,  only.  As  to  the  truthfulness 
of  the  sounds  the  wnting  is  perfectly  correct.  It  sins  but  by  a  re- 
dundance of  lettei-s:  as  th*-ir  number  is  47,  while  there  are  only  28 
simple  sounds.  Tliis  number  comprises  7  vowels :  «,  ^,  w,  e,  o,  r?*,  Iri 
and  21  consonants :  ^,  g,  /?,  6,  m,  y,  r,  Z,  v,  strong  5  (as  the  first  s  in 
session),  s'  (as  in  6'^uri),  common  5,  A,  2  <,  2  c/  and  4  w.  Even  here 
there  is  no  absolute  perfection,  as  W,  Zn,  though  pronounced  at  once 
with  a  ringing  rattle  of  the  tongue,  have  a  tinge  of  composition  ;  and 
as  e,  o  are  accounted  diphthongs  (because  resulting  from  the  neutral- 
ized tints  of  a^,  au  respectively,  as  in  French,  Gothic  and  English,  f.i., 
ra?l,  beaw),  although  they  sound  simple.  Of  the  remaining  19  let- 
tei^,  1 0  designate  bi-compound  sounds,  viz. :  the  sounds  of  kh  (as 
in  inMorn),  gh  (in  lo/7Aouse),  ^s'  (in  cAat),  dz'  (in/oy),  2  th  (po^Aook), 
2  dh  (ndhere),  ph  (uphold),  hh  (abhor) ;  then  2  tri-compounds :  ts'h 
(in  ke^cMook)  and  dz''h  (hedgehog) ;  5  long  vowels :  «,  i,  u,  ri,  Iri  ; 
and  2  the  real  diphthongs  a/,  aw. 

There  are,  moreover,  1 6  marks  super-,  or  sub-,  or  post-scribed  to 
the  letfei-s;  15  being  but  duplicates  of  the  real  letters,  a  kind  of  lieu- 
tenants, namely  12  of  vowels  and  3  of  consonants  (the  Anusvdrxi, 
after-sound,  a  nasal  dot ;  the  Visarga,  omission,  departure,  a  soft  as- 
pirate h,  almost  s  and  akin  to  r  ;  and  the  vicegerent  of  r).  One,  the 
Virdma  stop,  silences  the  short  vowel  (a  or  rather  the  indifferent  e, 
see  above)  inherent  to  each  consonant ;  the  system  being  truly  a  syl- 
laharium.  Some  lists  add  to  the  47  letters  3  signs,  viz. :  for  ks*  (as 
in  ^Qksher),  dz^n  (as  in  herZ^mook),  and  for  a  sound  partaking  of  I 
and  r  (in  the  Vedas). 

The  Devanagari  was  originally  written  from  right  to  left :  now  it 
runs  like  our  writing.  As  to  the  shape  of  the  letters,  it  is  the  most 
stately  of  all  writings  known.  Excepting  a  few,  all  lettei's  have  fmmes, 
opening  towards  the  left;  6  are  without  frames  but  look  to  the  left; 
and  only  8  frameless  signs  open  towards  the  right.  The  Greeks 
turned  round  the  bodies  of  their  lettei's  when  they  altered  the  direc- 
tion of  their  writing  to  the  right :  not  so  the  Indians ;  so  that  the  last 
mentioned  8  letters  betray  a  later  origin,  having  been  probably  made 
when  the  writinjr  was  turned  rio-htvvards.  llere  is  the  table  of  this 
graphic  system. 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 


89 


VOWELS. 

Primary,  eimple 

Secondary,             I 
diphthongescent    \ 

Peculiar 

a 

e 

i 

0 

u 

ri 

Iri 

Diphthongs 

ai 

au 

CONSONANTS. 

Gutturals 
Palatals  (Note  a.) 
Cerebro-linguals 
Denti-linguals 
Labials 

SURDS. 

SONOROUS    '   NASALS. 

SEMIVOWELS. 

SIBILANTS. 

ka 

cha 

/a 

ta 

pa 

Aspir. 

kha 

chha 

thai 

tha 

pha 

Gra 
ia 
'ia 
'la 
ba 

Atp  r. 

ya 

la,  ra 
va 

ha 
sha 

sa,  ssa 

gha 
Jha 
</ha 
dha 
bha 

n'  a 

n?ea 

nta 

na 

ma 

a)  Note  to  Palatals  and  Cerebrals.  The  palatals  are  a  kind  of  bridge 
from  the  gutturals,  through  the  cerebrals,  to  the  dentals,  i.  e.,  from  the 
throat  gradually  creeping  forwards.  The  cerebrals  seem  to  send  the  voice, 
as  it  were,  through  or  towards  the  brain  (an  epithet  unluckily  chosen  by 
Halhed  and  Wilkinsj,  by  raising  the  middle  of  the  tongue  to  the  palate. 
But  the  tongue  strikes  the  teeth  in  the  utterance  of  the  dentals.  As  to 
sound  the  palatals  are  also  a  sort  of  cerebro-linguals  or  denti-linguals,  i.  e., 
ts'  dz'  (as  explained  above) :  but  as  to  origin,  in  respect  to  the  radical  pro- 
etyma  or  germs,  they  are  virtually  gutturals.  Hence  in  all  languages 
where  such  palatals  exist,  they  are  to  be  retraced  to  gutturals,  if  we  would 
find  their  genesis  or  birth,  in  words.  Take,  f  i.,  in  English,  cAowdcr,  cAafe, 
cAill,  cAurn,  cAurch,  cAafF,  cAain,  challenge,  cAambre,  cAandler,  cAarm,  cAest, 
cAin,  cAild,  cAimney,  \^x\dgQ,  brancA,  dii^cA,  pi^cA,  cAicken,  kitcAen,  etc.,  etc., 
in  short,  ALL  those  words  or  parts  of  words  wherein  the'squeezed  (smash- 
ed, squashed)  sounds  ts\  dz\  written  cA,  tch^  g^,  g'^,  dg^,  j,  occur,  and  you 
will  find  that  wherever  these  written  groups  or  letters  are  pronounced  den- 
tally or  smashedly  (and  not  where  they  sound  like  A",  as  in  arcAitect,*  cAorus, 
etc.),  the  words  or  their  parts  are  traceable  to  an  original  organo-genetic 
guttural  sound.  Such  examination  will  bring  to  light  great  many  things 
now  blurred  over  by  pseudoepy  and,  in  fewer  cases,  by  pseudography,  in 
some  by  both.  The  parentage  of  the  above  words,  is  the  following  ;  chovj- 
der,  chafe,  hail  from  L.  cal-eo,  be  warm,  whence  Engl,  coal,  trough  caldron, 
calefac-ere,  French  cAauflTer ; — chill,  from  cold,  Latin  o^el-idus,  gl-a.c\es  (both 


*  Here  again  the  English  pronunciation  lacks  consistency,  for  we 
arcA-bishop  =  ar/!5'bis'op,  etc. 

5* 


say 


90  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

cal-or,  heat,  and  gel-n  cold,  frost,  sprout  from  one  germ,  which  means  deep, 
central,  latent  essence ;  as  natural  philosophy  has  taught  us  Aeat  and  color 
to  be.  See  Roots) ; — c/iurn,  Anglo-Saxon  ciern  (pron.  kiern  and  compare 
with  kern-e\,  grain  ;  for  churning  is  granifying,  kerneling,  curdWDg.  conacre- 
ting,  c<?a«^ulating).  The  sires  of  the  rest  of  the  above  words  are :  ^IrA:, 
Kvpiov-oiK-os,  lords-house  ; — A.-S.  ceaf; — L.  catena,  contin-eo,  hold-with  ; — 
Norm,  calenge,  from  calling  out ; — L.  camera,  related  to  Aome,  cabinet,  etc. ; 
— L.  cand-eo  ^Zow- white,  related  again  to  cal-eo ;  compare  candle,  Aindle, 
cinders ; — L.  carmen,  song  ;  related  to  can-o  and  to  call ;  whence  incantation, 
charming  by  song; — L,  cista;  Kuams,  bladder,  and  kvtos,  cavity,  cistern 
(hence  costa,  rib,  as  forming  the  breast-chest;  whence  French  c6t6,  side, 
and  cote,  rib,  coast,  sea-side,  etc.) ; — L.  ^ena,  Germ,  k'mn  ; — Gr.  /rind,  L.  ^^e- 
nit-us,  Engl.  Aind-red  ; — L.  caminus,  Slav,  ^men,  stone  (chimneys  must  be 
built  of  stone)  ; — Engl,  brin^,  for  a  hr'ulge  brings  over,  and  so  does  a  bri^^ 
(root  fer-o,  bear  ;  the  word  brin^  is  already  a  participle  present,  contracted 
from  bear-ing.  just  as  king  is  from  canning,  cenning  and  cunnirig,  and  ring 
from  running,  etc.)  ; — to  d\g  \  daKPco,  to  bite ;  do^-,  da^-o^er  ;  tao',  tac^,  etc. ; 
— cock,  whence  diminut.  cicken,  G.  k^lech-l^i\n,  etc. ; — cook,  L  co^uo  (of  cock 
the  first  k  was  smashed,  and  of  cook  the  second) ;  etc.  This  emollition  is 
very  ancient  in  some  languages,  f  i.,  in  Sanscrit  and  its  dialects,  in  Chinese, 
etc.  Some  languages  preserved  themselves  from  it,  f.  i.,  the  Latin,  the  Old 
German  (Anglo-Saxon  of  course)  the  Celtic  dialects.  In  our  modern  mixed 
languages  it  is  to  be  traced  to  a  kind  of  psychic,  phonetic  and  glossic  tu- 
multuary fermentation,  produced  by  a  rapid  and  disorderly  mixture  of  ele- 
ments. The  clashing  of  these  on  one  side,  the  gas  developed  from  them 
and  the  want  of  rest  necessary  for  a  regular  crystallization  of  the  new  pro- 
ducts, on  the  other,  gave  us  these  awkward,  grotesque,  quaint,  now  grace- 
ful, now  grimaceful  shapes  of  words,  their  phonetic  or  graphic  or  combined 
incongruities.  The  best  sounds  have  been  just  most  ill-treated ;  so  have 
the  best  words,  f  i.,  Eng'l.  caii,  may,  owe,  shall,  will,  must,  etc.,  so  much  so 
that  the  best  Anglic  phrase,  and,  at  once,  the  best  possible  in  creation,  f  i., 
not  CANNING  to  come,  I  must,  a.  s.  f ,  instead  of  "  not  being  able  to,  ...  .  ex- 
cites the  laughter  of  English  people.  We  might  say  with  more  truth, 
strength,  lucidity  and  grace  "  cen  is  can"  instead  of  "  knotckflge  is  power." 
So  has  the  skull  been  abused  by  the  CaraTfbs  ;  so  have  the  nose,  lips,  feet,  etc., 
by  Botucudos,  Chinese  ;  so  our  brain,  our  organs  of  speech,  etc.  So  reli- 
gion, justice,  education. 

The  arrangement  of  the  Devaii^garl  is  of  the  higliest  importance 
for  the  proper  appreciation  of  sounds.  This,  as  well  as  the  extraor- 
dinary luxuriance  and  regularity  of  forms,  the  pellucidity  of  the  ma- 
terial of  the  Sanscrita  language,  allowing  glimpses  behind  the  scenery 
into  the  interior  of  the  mind ;  and  the  genial  laboi-s  of  its  native 
grammarians  and  lexicologists,  have  made  such  an  impression  on  Eu- 
ropean glossologists  and  philologists,  that  since  they  ha^e  become  ac- 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  91 

quainted  with  that  prince  of  the  Aryan  idioms,  the  whole  field  of  lin- 
guistic studies  has  been  cultivated  with  extraordinary  success. 

All  the  systems  of  Central  and  Southern  Asia  (with  the  exception 
of  China  and  Japan,  where  the  phonetic  system  of  India  has  Keen  im- 
itated and  constitutes  a  collateral  method  to  the  indigenous  ideo- 
graphy)  are  copies  of  the  Devanagari.  Among  these  the  most  faith- 
ful and  prominent  are  :  the  Bengalese,  which  attaches  the  o  to  each 
consonant ;  the  SingalesQ  of  Ceylon ;  and  the  Tamulic  (or  Mala- 
baric),  the  fii-st  named  being  nearest.  The  Maratha  Ls  very  near  to 
the  Bengalese.  The  othei-s  are  the  Carnataca  or  Canarese^  the  Te- 
lugu  or  Telinga,  the  Cagriche  of  Ava  and  Rac'hain  (Aracan),  the 
Grandan  of  Pondichery,  the  Malaijalam,  the  Cahulic,  the  Burmese 
(Birmanic).  Very  remarkable  is  the  Tibetan,  on  account  of  the  hte- 
rature  of  the  Lamas ;  not  less  so  the  Pali  and  Siamese,  though  the 
language  be  connected  with  the  Chinese.  On  Java  an  analogous 
system  is  now  in  practice,  which  stands  in  an  interesting  relation  to 
the  ancient  writing  of  the  Kaui  language,  on  which  Wm.  v.  Hum- 
boldt has  thrown  a  flood  of  light.  The  influences  of  the  sacred  liter- 
ature, together  with  that  of  the  religion  of  India,  have  been  great  on 
those  of  Mantshuria  and  Mongolia,  as  is  plainly  exhibited  by  their 
lettei-s.  The  writing  of  the  latter  called  Galih  is  altogether  an 
imitation  of  the  Devanagari,  as  regards  the  aiTangement  of  the 
lettei-s :  for  the  languages  of  the  Mongols  and  Mantshus  do  not  be- 
long to  the  Sanscrit  (or  Aryan)  family  but  to  the  Altai-Tataric  stock, 
to  which  the  Magyar  and  Turkish  also  are  to  be  counted.  The  Man- 
tshus string  their  letters,  as  if  they  were  beads,  on  a  vertical  hne, 
each  word  forming  a  kind  of  straightened  chaplet.  The  languages 
on  Sumati^a,  f.  i.,  the  Korinchi,  Rejang,  Bdtta,  Bugis,  Lampoong^ 
etc.,  and  of  other  islands,  have  also  felt  the  influence  of  India,  whether 
we  regard  writing  or  religion,  or  social  institutions,  etc. 

The  Hindostanee  and  Persian,  though  among  the  principal  pro- 
geny or  kindred  of  the  Aryan  family,  are  written  with  Arabic  char- 
acter, not  to  their  advantage :  as  their  structure  difiei-s  considerably 
from  the  Sliemitic  idioms.  Religion  has  acted  the  principal  part  in 
spreading  literature  and  writing  among  various  nations.  Mohamme- 
danism has  thus  conquered  to  itself  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
Old  Indie  domain  towards  the  south-east,  a  not  less  considerable  to- 
wards the  north-east,  by  gaining  the  Osmanlis,  miscalled  Turks  (who 


92  '      SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

also  use  Atabic  letters)  and  many  Tataric  tribes,  and  the  AfgJmns 
(or  Pouchto),  the  Malays. 

Zend  and  Pehhi  differ  as  to  shape,  but  agree  in  the  use  of  their 
lettei*s  with  the  Devanagari,  being  sister-languages  to  the  Sanskrita. 

Of  all  systems  of  writing,  the  most  prolific  and  the  most  import- 
ant to  us,  is  that  which  can  appropriately  be  called  the  PHOENICIAN* 
ALPHABET ;  since,  though  not  invented  in  the  bosom  of  this  most 
commercial  people  of  antiquity,  it  has  been  contrived,  in  imitation  of 
the  Egyptian  phonetic  writing,  as  a  kind  of  tachygraphy,  to  suit  their 
purposes  of  easy  and  speedy  communication.  It  is  the  most  organic 
of  all  modes  of  representing  spoken  language  ;  not  only  in  respect  to 
the  significance  of  the  simple  sounds,  but  also  in  its  own  internal  ar- 
rangement. This  is  plainly  seen  in  the  table  given  on  p.  75,  which  con- 
tains its  essence  augmented  by  few  additional  letters.  Dr.  Wm.  Ge- 
SENius  presents  the  following  pedigree  of  it. 


PHOENIC.  ALPHABET,  whose  variety  the  Punico-Numidic, 


Ancient  Greek  Ancient  Persic       Ancient  Hebraic       Ancient  Aramaic 

I.  I 


Etrusc,  Roman  Greek                        |  Samaritan  Palmyr. 

commt)n    , ■ s 


Umbric 

Oscic 
Sum  nit.      | 

North  Runic  7 


Assyr,  Square  Ilebr. 


Sassanid.  Esiranselo,  Zabic 

Zend.  Nestorian 

Pehlvi  I 


Copt  ,  Goth  ,  Slavic  |  Kufic,  Peschito,  Uigur  (Anc.  Turk.) 

ASax.,  Armenic ]  Nischi  (Aralnc) 


The  ancient  forms  of  the  Phoenic.  letters,  as  found  on  stones  and 
coins,  resemble  more  our  present  Latin  capitals,  than  the  other  modi- 
fications which  are  mentioned  on  the  table  before  us,  if  we  except  the 
ancient  Greek.  The  Numidic  variety  was  a  sort  of  cui-sive  or  rustic 
hand,  used  at  the  time  of  the  Hiempsals  and  lubas.  lo.  Swinton 
and  1. 1.  Barthelemy,  were  the  first  decypherers  of  the  Phoenic. 
writing,  the  former  prior  as  to  time,  the  latter  superior  in  success. 
The  lettei-s  are  22  in  number. 

Ancient  Greek,  the  first-born  of  this  ffimily,  is  known  to  us  from 
more  ancient  monuments  than  the  mother  hei-self  Both  agree  almost 
entirely  in  the  number,  the  shapes  and  the  names  of  the  lettei-s.  But 
the  languages  are  of  different  families,  the  Phoenic.  being  of  the 
Shemitic,  and  a  sister  of  the  Heb.,  Arab.,  -dEthiop.,  etc.,  while  the 


SOUNDS    AND    LETTERS.       xit^J[^^/i"W  '^?8 

Greek  pertains  to  the  Aryan   (Sanscnta,  Indo-European)  family,  and 
is  a  sister  of  the  Latin,  Celtic,  Teutic,  Slavic,  etc.,  tongues. 

All  remarks  on  the  single  modifications  of  this  graphic  system,  as 
applied  to  different  idioms,  cannot  be  kej)t  strictly  apart  ft'om  each 
other,  because  the  descent  and  adaptation  of  tlie  lettei-s  to  speech  did 
not  take  place  just  in  a  straight  line ;  nor  are  we  minutely  informed 
as  to  single  details.  Hence  what  is  said  on  the  Phoenic.  wiiting,  un- 
less limited  or  qualified  expressly,  is  to  be  understood  of  the  modifi- 
cations of  the  system  also.  The  decimal  mode  of  marking  numbers 
was  em})loyed  in  Phoenic.  in  imitation  of  the  Egyptian  notation. 
All  letters  betokened  consonants,  and  only  afterwards  3  of  them  were 
used  as  vowels  in  Heb.  (a,  ^,  u),  and  4  in  Greek  (a,  6,  t,  o). 

There  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  series,  in  which  the  letters  suc- 
ceeded one  another.  Besides  other  proofs,  we  have  the  alphabetic 
poernSj  especially  Psalm  cxix.  of  176  verses,  in  which  22  groups,  of 
8  vei-ses,  each  beginning  with  the  letters,  in  alphabetical  order,  follow 
without  interruption.  Psalms  xxv.,  xxxiv.,  xxxvii.,  cxlv.,  a.  s.  f. ;  Prov. 
xxxi.  10-31 ;  Lament,  evince  the  same.  In  the  "  ten  words'^  (com- 
mandments) all  letters,  except  i:,  th,  are  found  (Exod.  xx.  2-14  vs.  of 
the  original  text,  but  2-1 7  of  the  LXX.  Compare  Deut.  v.  6-1 8  of  ori- 
ginal, 6-21  of  the  Septuagint).  Ewald  admits  no  glossologic  reason 
for  the  series,  but  Lepsius  proves  it.  What  is  more,  all  phenomena 
even  of  our  (not-Shemitic)  languages  bear  clearest  and  irrefragable 
evidence  to  a  majestic  harmony  in  the  succession  of  the  letters.  In 
the  application  to  languages  of  different  stocks,  or  by  the  dullness 
of  those  who  attempted  to  arrange,  or  to  enrich  the  alphabet,  some 
letters  have  been  displaced,  some  ejected,  others  newly  inserted ;  so 
that  the  simple  original  scheme  was  somewhat  injured.  Yet  even 
our  present  alphabet  of  26  lettei*s,  exhibits  the  most  wonderful,  in- 
deed, a  PERFECT  HARMONY,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  following 
chaptere.  The  discrepancy  of  the  common  Greek  and  of  our  alpha- 
bet from  its  prototype,  will  be  easily  perceived  from  the  following 
table,  in  which  the  common  square  Hebrew  (rather  Chaldaic)  char- 
acter is  used,  instead  of  the  Phoenician.  Among  the  names  of  the 
lettei*s,  8  signify  parts  of  the  human  body,  and  about  as  many,  have 
reference  to  pastoral  life. 


94 


SOUNDS    AND    LETTERS. 


NUMERAL 

LAT.  AND 

HEB. 

NAME. 

COMMON    GREEK. 

VALUE. 

1 

ENG. 

5( 

Aleph,  huW 

A,  2iA</)a 

A 

2 

n 

Bet,  house 

B,  firira 

B 

3 

3 

Gimel,  camel 

r,  yd/x/ixa 

C 

4 

n. 

Dalet,  door 

A,d4\ra 

D 

5 

* 
n 

//e.lo!  chink 

E,  fi|//\bi/ 

E 

6 

1 

Far,  hook 

(F>  ^iya/jL/jia ;  r  6) 

F 

7 

^ 

Dznin,  weapon 

Z.  C^ra 

(G) 

8 

n 

Chet,  hedge 

H,-^Ta 

H 

9 

,..P 

Tfieth,  snake  or  hand 

0,  ^rJTa 

10 

^ 

lod,  open  hand 

I,  taJra 

I,  J 

20 

3 

Caph,  palm  of  hand 

K,  Ka-mra 

K 

30 

Lamed,  goad 

A,  Xafi^da 

L 

40 

J2>  D 

Tliem,  water 

M.  ^D 

M 

50 

V3 

iVwn,  fish 

N,  vv 

N 

CO 

1 

D 

SamecJh  support 

E.I? 

70 

3> 

gAin,  eye 

O,  OfXlKphv 

0 

80 

£5 

PAe,  mouth 

n,7r7 

P 

90 

p 

Tsnde,  fish-hook  or  owl 

100 

Qof^  occiput 

(Q,  90) 

Q 

200 

n 

llesh,  sinciput 

P,^cy(K)0) 

R 

300 

iii>ii: 

Sin,  Shin,  tuoth 

2,  <r:y^ia  (200) 

S 

400 

n_ 

Tav,  cross 

T,  TttG  (300) 

T 

400 

T,  V  xpiKhy 

U,  V,w 

500 

*,  <^t 

X 

600 

f 

x,x^ 

(Y) 

700 

%v|/r 

(Z) 

800 

n,  w  )U67a 

900 

(^  <ra/iiri) 

Tabular  scliemes;  exhibiting  the  gi'adual  development  of  writing* 
in  tlie  shape  of  the  lettei-s,  cannot  be  given ;  because  no  branch  of 
industry  is  less  cared  for  in  this  country  than  that  of  mental  improve- 
ment. The  country  seems  too  poor  to  pay  for  any  thing  which  is  not 
called  '''practical^  Should  the  present  attempt  to  call  attention  to 
the  subject  of  language  and  of  elementary  education  not  prove  to  be  a 
failure,  the  materials  to  satisfy  curiosity  and  love  of  knowledge  in 
other  kindred  departments  axe  ready  for  publication.  Lithographs 
or  woodcuts  ought  to  be  freely  used  in  all  branches  of  instruction, 
mapping   out   and   grouping   such  details,  as  cannot   conveniently, 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  '"fi^ 

^  clearly  and  succinctly  be  given  in  the  usual  way  of  explication,  by 
mere  phraseology. 

Passing  by  many  paiiiculai-s  which  afford  great  light  upon  the 
nature  of  language,  and  dismissing  Rabbinic  and  Arabic  myths  and 
legends  (which  attribute  the  invention  of  writing  to  Adam,  or  Man, 
othei*s  to  Ilanoch,  or  the  Initiated,  othei*s  to  Noah  or  Rest ;  compare 
Latin  no^  mt-v-is),  we  meet  three  different  traditions,  or  opinions,  con- 
cerning the  invention  of  writing.  Herodot.,  Terpsich.  57-61,  wrote 
that  Cadmus  hvo\^^\i  Phoenic.  letters  into  Boeotia;  .  .  .  that  they  were 
afterwards  altered  in  shape  by  the  lonians  ;  that  these  employed 
books  made  of  goat-  and  sheep-skins,  for  want  of  papyrus  (/3v/3\o^) ; 
that  he  saw  Cadmean  letters  at  Thebes,  in  Boeotia,  etc.  Diodor.  Sic. 
V.  14: ;  Plin.  h.  n.  V.  12  ;  Lucan.  Pharsal.  III.  220,  1.  But  the  honor 
of  the  invention  is  ascribed  to  the  Egyptians  by  CVc,  d.  nat.  deor., 
III.  B  ;  FUn.  h.  n.  VII.  56 ; — to  the  Syrians  by  Diodor.,  Plin.  No 
classic  wri^r  speaks  aught  about  the  phonetic  writing  among  the 
Egyptians.  Some  modern  writei-s  attribute  the  alphabet  to  the 
Babylonians,  supposing  the  %vpoi  in  Diodor.  to  be  Assyrians,  although 
Plin.  distinguishes  them,  saying  :  "  Literas  semper  arbitror  Assyrias 
fuisse,  sed  alii  apud  ^gyptios  a  Mercurio,  ut  Gellius,  alii  apud  Syros 
repertas  volunt."  A  little  Shemitic  inscription,  at  the  side  of  a  Baby- 
lonian wedge-like  one,  determined  U.  F.  Kopp  to  adopt  the  latter 
opinion ;  but  that  inscription  proves  to  be  of  later  and  Aramaic  origin. 

The  following  circumstances  miHtate  for  the  origin  of  the  Phoenic. 
orig-in  of  the  alphabet:  1.  The  names  of  the  lettei*s  betray  more  an- 
cient forms  than  the  Hebrew.  The  Syriac  names  (  Olaf,  Beth,  Gomal, 
etc.)  are  already  lifeless  and  technic,  so  that  lud  for  lod,  has  no  mean- 
ing, as  hand  is  called  ido  in  the  language.  The  suffix — a  to  the 
names  of  11  Greek  lettei-s  favoi-s  the  analogy  with  Aramaic,  but  it 
seems  rather  a  mere  euphonic  addition,  as  in  MaX^a  for  Melet.  2.  S>,  "i, 
1,  5<  are  softened  almost  into  vowels  in  the  Aramaic  dialect.  3.  Ico- 
nography and  hieroglyphy,  from  which  the  alphabet  must  have  ori- 
ginated, had  not  been  resorted  to  at  Babylon. 

The  most  ANCIENT  GREEK  inscriptions  (in  Bgeckh's  corpus, 
i.  Gr.,  in  Mionnet,  in  Kruse's  Hellas)  exhibit  three  directions,  i.  e., 
leftwards,  PovaTpocfirjSov  (turning  off  ploughino;  oxen),  and  I'ightwai'ds : 
hence  we  find  letters  looking' both  ways  f.  i.,  "IP,  >IK?  etc.)  The 
6th,  1 5th  and  1 8th  Phoenic.  letters  were  ejected  in  progress  of  time. 


96  SOUKDS  AND  LETTERS. 

and  only  used  as  numeral  signs  (c7rt(rr//xaTa,  over  signs)^  the  15th  be-^ 
ing  replaced  by  ^  and  thrown  to  the  end  of  the  alphabet  to  denote 
900.  The  Tsade  had  never  been  adopted ;  nor  was  there  a  sound  a* 
to  be  represented  by  shin,  E  stood  anciently  for  H,  EI ;  H  was  used 
as  spiritus  asper ;  O  was  employed  for  fi,  OY ;  instead  of  the  later  H 
we  see  the  combinations  K^,  V^ ;  instead  of  ^  that  of  112 ;  in  place 
of  Z,  0,  %  X  we  find  2A,  TH,  HH,  KH.  Plin,  h.  n.  VII.  bQ,  speaks 
of  16  lettei-s  coming  from  Phoenic.  It  is  more  likely  that  there  were 
at  least  18,  or  rather  21,  of  which  number  3  were  rejected.  Plu- 
tarch's (Gnost.  Sympos.  IX.  3)  and  Pliny's  assertion  that  Palamedes 
introduced  ^,  ^,  <^,  x->  during  the  Trojan  war,  and,  afterwards,  Simonr 
ides  of  Keos  4  others :  ^,  r],  i/^,  co  (or,  according  to  others :  Simonides 
and  Epicharmos  of  Sicil}^,  6  or  5  centuries  b.  c),  is  gratuitous ;  as  t, 
77,  ^  had  pre-existed  already  in  the  Phoen.  pattern.  The  16  letters^ 
supposed  to  have  been  Cadmean^  are :  a,  yS,  y,  S,  e,  t,  k,  A,  /a,  v,  o,  it, 
p,  (J,  T,  V  (Plin.)  All  24  letters  were  fii-st  written  by  the  lonians  on 
Samos,  and  in  state-papei-s  by  the  Athenians,  during  the  archonship 
of  Euclides,  01.  xciv.  2,  b.  c.  402.  Those  16  were  named  Attlko. 
ypoLjjifxaTa.  The  words  were  either  not  separated,  especially  if  be- 
longing together,  or  they  were  marked  off  with  1,  2  or  3  dots.  On 
coins  numerous  monograms  of  names  of  cities  are  found,  consisting  of 
several  interwoven  letters.  Under  Augustus,  mostly  at  Rome,  many 
lettei*s  were  fii-st  rounded  (thus  a,  e,  and  c  for  2  ;  w,  ^;  and  a  very  neg- 
ligently wiitten,  almost  cvrsive  hand,  with  connected  lettei-s  and  many 
ligatures  (siglce),  occurs,  as  concomitant  Greek  text,  on  -^Egyptian 
papyrus-rolls.  Grotesque  attempts  at  secrecy  are  also  visible  on  the 
gems  of  the  Basilidians,  with  images  of  the  Abraxas  and  others.  The 
oldest  manuscripts  offer  traits,  which  ver}^  nearly  approach  the  lapidar 
lettei-s  of  the  impei-ial  period.  There  are  some  rounded  letters,  many 
abbreviations,  but  no  separation  of  words,  no  spirits,  accents,  etc.,  in 
the  codices  down  to  our  10th  century.  Yet  all  these  contrivances  had 
been  used  in  grammatic  writings,  long  time  since.  As  early  as  the 
5th  century,  Euthalius  introduced,  in  manuscripts  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, spaces  between  words  and  writing  in  rows  or  verses  {onxri^v). 
Even  the  work  of  Iosepiius  on  ludaic  archneology  was  already  divid- 
ed in  60,000  sticks  (stakes,  verses).  Punctuation  by  moans  of  a  dot 
(oTLyfxrj)  at  the  top  of  the  line  (rcXcta  err.  final  dot),  under  tlie  line 
(.vTTooTty/Ay/,  instead  of  a  colon  or  comma),  and  in  the  middle  of  the 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  97 

line  (fiio-T]  cr.)  to  mark  the  slightest  division,  had  been  already  era- 
ployed  at  the  time  of  Ptolemseus  Epiphanes,  by  Aristophanes  of  By- 
zance :  though  it  was  brought  into  practice  as  late  as  our  9th  century. 
The  splitting  of  H  into  |-  (or  *)  spir.  asper,  and  H  (or  ')  spir.  lenis, 
devised  also  by  Alexandrian  grammarians,  came  only  into  use  in  the 
Vth  century;  together  with  the  accents.  Since  the  10th  century  the 
wnc/a^writing  yields  to  the  cursive,  which  is  often  found  overloaded 
with  very  puzzhng  flourishes,  many  of  which  have  been  received  into 
types. 

All  italic;  alphabets  are  derived  from  the  ancient  Greek  (wit- 
ness Tacit,  annal.  xi.  44,  Dion.  Halic,  i.,  21;  iv.,  26;  Plin,  h.  n.  vii. 
58)  of  about  the  40th  Olympiad.  They  run  mostly  towards  the  left. 
1.  ETRUSCAN  inscriptions  on  coins,  gems,  vases,  and  especially  on 
sepulchral  monuments,  are  found  in  great  quantity,  reaching  from  the 
5th  to  the  8th  century  after  the  building  of  Rome.  B,  d  never  oc- 
cur there  and  g  only  with  the  power  of  k.  Z  differs  from  M  which 
represents  the  sound  of  our  s.  O  occui-s  but  in  foreign  words,  the 
sign  of  our  n  being  empl9yed  instead  of  this  vowel..  The  letters  for 
</>,  X,  i  are  of  later  introduction.  Short  vowels  are  often  entirely  neg- 
lected. Some  inscriptions  are  Pova-rpocfyrj^bv,  few  run  to  the  right, 
most  to  the  left.  There  are  few  ligatures ;  few  words  are  separated 
by  a  dot,  and  the  notation  of  numbei*s  is  decimal.  Pelasgic  letters 
were  used  before  the  adoption  of  these  we  speak  of. 

2.  Of  the  Eiiguhin  tables  (of  the  city  of  Iguvium)  5  are  written 
with  UMBRIC  letters,  2  with  Latin.  They  are  referred  to  the  4th 
century  of  Rome.  In  the  former  we  find  5,  cZ,  but  g  is  wanting  ;  ^ 
is  very  rare ;  there  are  two  lettei-s  for  s  (the  7th  one  con-esponding 
with  the  Etrusc.  and  our  x,  and  a  third  sibilant  answering  to  the  15th 
Phoenic.  letter).  Two  figures  for  r,  of  which  one  may  hav^e  been  the 
representative  of  the  Polish  sound  of  rz  (similar  to  z'  in  glacier,  but 
somewhat  harsher).  The  sign  V  was  probably  the  Greek  v,  but 
also  o.  Direction  leftwards.  Words  separated  by  2  dots.  3.  The 
OSCIC  and  SAMNITIC  resemble  very  much  the  Umbric;  only  the 
a  looks  like  our  N,  the  d  like  fl,  the  jt?  almost  like  an  inverted  V  (A). 
4.  The  Celt,  Iberian,  on  coins  of  Llispania  Tarraconensis  and  Baetica, 
also  belongs  to  this  group. 

The  ROMAN  alphabet  came  immediately  from  the  Greek  and 
probably  from  Campania.     Its  original  direction  is  from  the  left  to 


98  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

the  light.  C  had  the  value  both  of  k  and  g  (witness  the  columna 
rostrata  of  Consul  Duilius^  which  has  Leciones,  Macestratos,  Car- 
tacinenses,  Pucnandod,  Exfociunt,  etc.,'instead  oi  g)  until  the  2d  Punic 
war.  The  value  of  c  as  k  was  probably  owing  to  Etruscan  influence. 
G  as  a  modified  C  was  afterwards  put  into  the  Yth  place,  as  the  Ro- 
mans knew  not  the  sound  of  ^  (ds).  Of  the  23  letters  (a,  6,  c,  c?,  e, 
/,  g^  A,  ?*,  k^  I,  m,  n,  o,  />,  g,  r,  5,  t,  v,  x,  y,  2),  now  used  in  pnnting 
Latin,  21  (i.  e.,  subtracting  y  and  z)  occur  almost  in  their  present 
shape,  on  very  ancient  documents ;  so  that  the  testimony  of  Marius 
Victorinus,  as  to  there  having  been  originally  but  16  (a,  b,  c,  d,  e,  e, 
ky  Z,  m,  7^,  0,  j[?,  q,  r,  5,  ^)  avails  only  to  prove  that  the  number  of 
letters  was  very  scanty,  in  the  beginning.  Cicero 'de  nat.  deor.  XL, 
assumes  21,  and  Quintilian  inst.  or.  I.,  4,  9,  calls  x  "  the  last  of  ours P 

Y  and  z  were  introduced  under  the  republic.     The  origin  of  V  and 

Y  is  common,  from  Greek  Y.  K  was  used  in  abbreviations  (Quintil. 
as  above,  and  VII.  10).  X  answers  to  S  in  value,  not  in  figure.  Em- 
peror Claudius  endeavored  to  introduce  3  new  characters,  viz. :  J  as 
sign  of  consonant  v ;  x  for  the  Greek  ^,  and  h  for  the  sound  be- 
tween i  and  u  (in  optwmus,  Itibet,  etc.,  the  French  u,  Germ,  ii  or  ue), 
(Tacit,  annal.  XL  Sueton.  in  Claud.  41). — The  splitting  into  I  and  J, 
U  and  V  (J,  U  being  the  new  forms)  took  place  shortly  before  the 
I'Zth  century.  W  is  of  German  origin  and  occurs  first  in  the  name 
TFitiges,  anno  536,  on  coins.  See  K.  L.  Schneider's  Elementarlehre 
d.  lat.  Sprache.  On  the  most  ancient  monuments  there  is  no  separation 
into  words,  or  if  any,  only  by  means  of  a  dot ;  and  closely  connected 
little  words  were  often  joined  with  their  principals,  f.  i.,  Initaliam, 
Nechoc,  Niquiscit.^  Punctuation  was  used  already  under  Nero 
(Seneca  epist.  40  "  nos  etiam,  quum  scribimus,  interpungere  consuevi- 
mus.")  Letters  were  not  doubled  of  old  :  the  XII.  Tables  have : 
adito,  ilo,  for  addito,  illo.  Afterwards  the  doubling  of  letters  was 
marked  by  (^)  which  sign  was  called   sicilicus.     Sometimes  a  and  e 


*  This  occurs  in  modern  languages  either  without  or  with  a  hyphen, 
thus  Engl,  nftif  instead  of  an  ag,  un-\\^  equ-ws,;  Ticvcrthele.ss,  however^  etc. ; 
oftener  in  Ital.  dandomclo,  parlaUimcnc,  etc. ;  Span,  echaiidohs,  cntrefrarse,  etc.  ; 
Portng.  levando-a,  csclarecer-se,  etc. ;  French  parlez-voiis  ?  etc.  Many  groups 
of  words  were  thus  contracted  into  tlio  shape  of  one  word,  in  ancient  as  well 
as  in  modern  languages,  f.  i.,  Ka\oK(^ya^hs  =  Ka\hs  koI  aya^bs;  voluptas  = 
volo  onto;  auparavant  a  le  par  h  and  Lat.  von-io ;  Germ.  tt/M(;i^rsfe/WicA== 
un  wider  steh-en  leich-t,  and  innumerable  others.     -^  "'  -    •»  -'^^i 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  09 

were  omitted,  thus,  e  in  :  hne^  cera^  dcimus  ;  a  in  crus^  etc.  Among 
the  numerous  abbreviations,  the  so-called  not(B  tironiance  are  the  most 
difficult. 

The  materials  of  writing  were  papyrus,  parchment,  tablets  of  va- 
rious substances,  covered  over  with  wax.  The  letters  were  traced  with 
reeds  (calamus)^  in  various  colors,  frequently  with  the  juice  of  the 
sepiu  (cuttle-fish),  which  was  called  atramentum  (blacking),  on  the 
former ;  and  engraved  with  a  stile  on  the  wax-tablets.  Mistakes  on 
these  were  obliterated  with  the  other  flattened  extremity  of  the  stile. 
Hence :  "  vertere  stilum,''^  to  turn  the  stile,  i.  e.,  alter  the  mode  of 
writing ;  stile,  the  manner  of  writing  with  regard  to  language ;  sin- 
cere, sine  cera,  without  wax,  pure,  plain,  etc.  (See  Appendix  C.  on  the 
pronunciation  of  Latin). 

Between  the  yeai-s  360-80  a.  c.  Bishop  Ulphilas  adapted  the 
Greek  alphabet  to  his  translation  of  the  Gospel,  into  the  Gothic  lan- 
guage, in  Moesia  on  the  Lower  Danube.  Hence  the  name  of  MQESO- 
GOTHIC.  The  principal  manuscript  written  in  silver-letters  on  a  dark 
ground  (Codex  argenteus)  is  now  preserved  at  Upsala  in  Sweden. 
The  number  of  letters  occurring  in  the  original  is  25,  but  some  wri- 
ters add  a  kind  of  q  before  r.  Junius,  Hickes,  and  Bosworth  agi-ee 
as  to  their  order  and  number ;  Lye  differs  somewhat.  The  figures 
are,  on  the  whole,  so  to  say,  half  Greek  half  Latin;  the  o  is  repre- 
sented by  an  inverted  u.  There  is  a  letter  for  cw,  one  for  th,  one  for 
ch. 

In  the  opinion  of  Rask,  the  monumental  RUNIR  (from  run, 
or  ryn,  G.  Rinne,  channel,  spout,  running,  groove,  according  to  Ol. 
WoRMius ;  from  ge-ryne,  G.  ge-raune,  whispering,  mystery,  as  Spel- 
man  believes)  were  introduced  into  Scandinavia  before  our  era,  and 
were  continued  there,  as  well  as  in  the  northern  parts  of  Germany, 
for  some  centuries  after  Christ.  We  cannot  enter  upon  details,  and 
leaving  the  Celtic  and  other  varieties  used  in  Lomhardy,  etc.,  out  of 
the  question,  it  will  suffice  to  enumerate  the  Norse  Runes,  They 
were  originally  16  in  number,  in  the  following  order,  given  here  with 
their  names,  the  first  sound  of  which  is  betokened  by  the  respective 
character.     The  numeric  value  is  prefixed  to  each. 

1.  Fie,f^;  L.  ;?<?c-us.  cattle. 

2.  Ur ;   L.  wr-us,  wild  bull ;  also  torrent,  iron-sparks. 

3.  'Quss;  Thor-u,  mountain-spirit  (comp.  12). 


100  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

4.  Oys;  L,  as,  oris;  ^.s/z-um,  and  gulf,  OS  in. 

5.  Rl^hr ;  cavalry  (rlder-y).  carriage. 

6.  Kaun  and  cen;  boil,  L.  ulc-us,  prurigo  (comp.  Kav<r-i5;  burning). 

7.  Hagl;  hail,  and  hairy,  angular. 

8.  Naud ;  need,  fetters, 

9.  Jls;  icicle,  Anglo-Saxon,  ises-gecel,  i.  e.,  ice+cooled. 

10.  Aar;  y-ear,  L.  ar-o,  plough. 

11.  Sdl ;  sun. 

12.  T)/r ;  L.  taur-ns,  bull ;  giant  Thurs  (comp.  3). 

13.  BjarkdiXi ;  birch. 

14.  Lagur ;  Uqu-or^  lak-e. 

15.  Madur,  mander ;  man  looking  at  the  stars. 

16.  Yr ;  L.  arc-\xs^  compare  ar-ro\v. 

To  these  were  afterwards  added  6  more,  i.  e.,  5  from  among  the  above, 
distinguished  by  inscribed  dots,  and  hence  called  stiuigeii,  i.  e.,  stung,  viz., 
stungen  Kaun  or  Knesol,  to  note  our^,  as  in  ^et;  st.  Jls,  our  e  in  end;  st. 
birk,  for  our  p ;  st.  fie.  for  our  t,  and  u  in  f/^11 ;  st.  ur  (not  admitted  by  all 
writers)  for  our  u  and  ?/; — and  a  combination  of  A  with  s. 

The  ANGLO-SAXON  alphabet  was  formed  in  our  Gth  century, 
from  the  Latin,  as  then  shaped.  It  underwent  several  modifications 
which  are  denominated  as  follows :  Roman-Saxon.,  found  in  the  Dur- 
ham-book ;  Set  Saxon,  from  the  middle  of  the  8th  to  that  of  the 
9th  century ;  cursive  or  running-hand.,  at  the  end  of  the  9th  century, 
patronized  by  king  Alfred ;  mixed  (with  Roman,  Lombardic),  till  the 
beginning  of  the  11th  century;  Elegant  Saxon.,  used  from  the  10th 
to  the  middle  of  the  13th  century.  The  schemes  given  by  Hickes, 
Bernard.,  Lye.,  Bosworth  and  others,  vary  somewhat ;  so  that  taking 
all  things  into  consideration,  we  find,  in  reality,  25.  letters,  and,  com- 
paring them  with  the  present  26  English,  the  following  discrepan- 
cies between  both.  There  were  2  character  representing  our  soft 
th  in  iliQ  (D,  b)  and  our  harsh  aspirated  th  in  tKxck  (j5,  }>) ;  but 
there  were  no  letters  answering  to  our  present  j.,  q,  w, — As  regards 
the  shape  of  the  charactei-s,  the  following  Anglo-Saxon  differed 
somewhat  from  our  present  capitals,  viz.,  C,  G,  H,  M,  V ;  the 
small  lettci-s  differed  more,  especially  the  e,  /,  g.,  r,  s,  t,  v.  The 
c  was  mostly  used  where  the  English  now  has  k  before  the  slender 
vowels,  and  of  course  everywhere  where  it  has  c  even  in  the  combi- 
nation ch,  so  that  c/iild,  Chester,  were  written  did,  Cester  (sounding 
k).  Our  sh  was  written  sc,  thus  5czjo, /isceras,  instead  of  s/iip,  fisAere. 
G  was  always  sounded  hard  as  in  ^ive.    The  v  was  pronounced  in 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  101 

the  middle,  or  at  tlie  end  of  syllables,  like  the  Germ.  6  or  French  eu. 
As  regards  what  is  called  spelling  or  orthography  now-a-days,  there 
was  no  standard ;  all  the  changes  of  cognate  sounds  were  rung,  so 
that  one  word  was  written  in  great  many  ways  at  one  time,  or  at  dif- 
ferent times,  f.  i.,  our  give  thus  :  gif,  giffs,  given,  geive,  gin,  gi'me,  yef, 
yeve,  yeoven,  yf,  if  (hence  our  if,  i.  e.  given,  admitted,  on  condition). 
This  luxuriance  of  forms  was  governed  by  a  latent  law  of  phonetic 
affinities,  as  if  many  dialects  {dia-goweX  or  6m5-sed  ways  of  speaking) 
were  collected  in  one  idiom.  The  above  number  of  forms  might  be 
augmented  by  those  existing  in  German,  viz.,  gib,  geben,  gab,  gdbe, 
gieb,  and  by  many  othei-s ;  without  producing  an  essential  difference 
in  their  meaning. 

As  we  must  return  to  the  Greek  again,  it  will  be  useful  to  men- 
tion some  peculiarities  in  the  pronunciation  of  the  present  ROMAIC 
or  MODERN  GREEK.  These  have  been  recommended,  in  the  16th 
century,  by  Reuchlin  for  the  ancient  language,  in  opposition  of 
Erasmus  of  Rotterdam  who  pronounced  according  to  the  writing,  by 
uttering  each  letter  with  one  single  constant  sound  (except  y  before 
gutturals).  Reuchlin  and  the  modern  Greeks  pronounce  rj,  t,  v,  ct, 
ot  like  i  in  ink,  i.  e.,  they  itacize.  They  further  pronounce,  as  follows : 
at  =  our  ai  in  a^l ;  av,  €v,  rjV'=af,  ef  if,  before  the  hard  mute,  aspi- 
rated and  compound  consonants;  but = av,  ev,  iv,  before  the  other 
consonants  and  before  vowels  ;  ^  before  vowels^?;;  initial  k-  before 
a  final  -v=g  in  ^et ;  y,  8  feebly  aspirated  ;  ^=z  m  zest  (and  not  as 
the  ancient  =  c?0)  ;  kt-  =  xt]  (TfjL=zm,  fji7r  =  mb  or  b,  f.  i.,  MTra/xTrw 
=  j5a6o;  etc.  They  do  not  aspirate  the  rough  breathing  (*).  It  is 
as  preposterous  to  admit  that  the  ancient  Hellenic  language  was  so 
pronounced,  as  it  is  to  say  that  the  Latin  was  just  so  pronounced  as 
the  modern  Italian.  Neither  of  the  modern  caricatures  of  those  ma- 
jestic languages  has  any  claim  to  be  considered  as  a  regulator  of  what 
they  have  spoiled.  They  have  as  little  right  to  dictate  postliminiar 
phonetic  laws,  as  they  have  to  give  morphic  or  form-laws  to  their 
august  mothei-s.  But  they  are  surpassed  in  these  matricidal  attempts 
by  the  wholesale  murdering  process,  which  is  practised  by  the  Eng- 
lish pronunciation,  both  against  its  own  ancestry  and  against  the  lan- 
guages of  Hellas  and  (most  atrociously)  of  Rome.  Such  antichronic 
usurpation  is  of  the  same  kind  with  the  voraciousness  of  the  wolf  in 
JEsop's  fable,  which  tore  the  lamb  drinking  below  him  from  the  brook, 
because  it  troubled  the  water ! 


102  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

Cyrillus,  the  apostle  of  the  SLAVONIANS  {Slowaks,  Moravians, 
Czechs),  wrote  his  translation  of  the  Bible  with  an  a^Avdht't  fashioned 
from  the  Greek.  This  is  now  used  by  the  Serbs,  Bulgarians  and 
other  Slavic  peoples  of  the  so-called  Greek  or  schismatic  church,  and, 
to  some  extent,  by  the  Valachs  although  they  derive  themselves  fi'om 
the  Romans  (hence  calling  themselves  Rumuni),  It  consists  of  40 
character  in  the  following  order  (their  shape  being  almost  Greek)  : 
a,  6,  V,  g,  d,  e,  z\  s,  2,  i  (77),  t'  (^),  i,  j  (German),  k,  Z,  m,  w,  a:,  d,  p, 
a  kind  of  sk,  r,  s,  t,  y,  w,  ph,  Greek  Xi  P^i  ^1  *'^^''  (shtsh)  is,  ts^  (tsh), 
5'  [sh)  and  6  charactei*s  representing  3  ye's  (as  in  Engl,  ye-s),  and  ya, 
yo,  y?/  (pronounced  as  in  yankee,  yoke,  you).  We  see  from  this  hst, 
that  this  Chitirilizza,  as  it  is  called,  overeteps  the  requisite  conditions 
of  a  genuine  system  of  sounds,  inasmuch  as  it  contains  14  characters 
which  recall  compound  sounds,  and  as  it  luxuriates  in  the  representa- 
tion of  the  ^'s  and  s's. 

Undei-  Peter  I.  the  Great  Czar,  the  modern  RUSSIAN  alphabet 
was  formed  out  of  the  preceding  one,  with  the  following  discrepan- 
cies from  the  above  orde]*  of  letters,  viz.,  there  is  no  s  (after  the  2^), 
no  X,  no  sk,  no  y  (as  far  as  the  sound  is  concerned  ;  for  it  represents 
u),  and  instead  of  the  former's  ya,  yo,  yu,  there  are  here  2  ya's,  and 
1  yw.  The  f  [&)  and  i  conclude  the  senes.  There  are,  therefore, 
36  letters.  The  strictures  applied  to  the  prototype,  fall  also  upon  its 
modification.  Another  set,  named  Bukwicza  (from  6,  v)  and  Glago- 
litic  (i.  e.,  linguistic,  ^ or  sounding),  and  ascribed  to  St.  Jerome,  is 
used  by  the  Croats,  Dalmats,  Crainians,  Istrians,  who  are  Roman 
Catholics.  This  contains  32  characters,  lacking  namely  those  which 
correspond  to  the  Cyrillic  f  (<^),  x,  sk,  y,  ps,  2  ye's,  and  the  yo.  The 
names  of  the  letters  agree  with  their  sounds,  as  in  Greek. 

The  Poles,  Bohemians  (or  Czechs),  both  possessing  besides  the 
plain  I,  a  swollen  1-sound,  which  is  marked  with  a  bai'  across  the  1 ; 
the  Lusatians,  Wends,  Pomeranians,  being  all  of  the  Slavic  family, 
and  their  kindred,  the  Litvans  (commonly  Lithvanians),  Letts^  Samo- 
gitians,  employ  the  alphabet  of  the  western  nations  of  Europe,  i.  e., 
the  English.  This  is  also  frequently  made  use  of  by  those  Slaves 
who  use  the  Bukwicza.  All  these  nations,  and  the  Danes,  Swedes^ 
Icelanders,  etc.,  of  the  Teutic  family,  the  Germans  themselves,  also 
employ  this  alphabet,  especially  of  late,  together  with  that  which 
is  known  as  the  German.     But  this  is,  in  reality,  only  an  angular, 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  103 

broken  Latin  character,  which  oiiginated  from  the  monacJial  or  so- 
called  modern  Gothic^  and  which  is  also  denominated  the  black  letter. 
Although  the  Magyars  be  neither  Slavic  nor  Teutic,  being  of  the 
Altai-Tataric  group  of  nations,  and  aUhough  the  Valachs,  of  Italic 
extraction,  mostly  use  the  Cyrilhc  system  of  wnting ;  the  former  al- 
ways did  make,  and  the  latter  recently  and  more  properly  do  make 
use  of  the  common  European  alphabet.  The  IIUNS,  to  whom  the 
Magyars  claim  to  be  related,  had  34  letters  of  their  own,  which  may 
be  seen  in  G.  Hickes's  Linguarum  veterum  septent,  thesaurus,  Oxon, 
1705.  The  Magyar  tongue  abounds  in  sounds  which  the  French  call 
mouilleSj  i.  e.,  liquids  compound  with  a  final  j  (y)  consonant.  Of 
these  the  French,  Ital.,  Span.,  Portug.  have  but  2,  viz.,  Ij  (written  -ill-, 
gli,  II,  Ih  respectively)  and  nj  (written  gn,  gn,  n,  nh  respectively) ; 
whereas  the  Hungarians  have  4,  viz.,  those  2  {written  Ig,  ny),  and  dj 
(written  gy,  as  in  Magyar,  pronounce  Mac??/-ar  almost  as  the  di-  in 
Fr.  Dieu,  or  in  Engl,  dew,  due)  and  tj  (written  ty). 

Our  space  forbids  us  to  go  into  more  particulars.  And  as  our 
palceographk  remarks  must  sometimes  be  interrupted  by  neographic 
and  by  'phonetic  ones,  on  account  of  the  mutual  influence  of  writing 
and  speaking ;  \hd  reader  is  requested  to  grant  his  indulgence  .o  the 
seeming  disorder  resulting  from  this  mixture,  and  to  tax  his  attention 
somewhat  more  than  he  is  perhaps  wont  to  do  in  reading  grammatic 
works. 

Before  printing  was  invented  (or  re-invented  ?  See  page  86)  by 
John  Genzfleisch  von  Guttenberg,  in  1440,  the  Anglo-Saxon  had 
ceased  to  be  spoken.  Wm.  Caxton,  having  learnt  piinting  in  Flan- 
dei-s,  printed  the  fii-st  book  in  England,  "  The  Game  at  Chess,''^  finish- 
ing it  in  1474.  Aldus  Manutius,  of  Venice,  invented  and  used  the 
modern  Italic  tjq^es  in  1501.  About  1567  John  Daye  cut  the  fii*st 
Saxon  types  in  England.  This  will  suffice  to  show  all  that  will  be 
refeiTed  to  in  the  following  chapters,  as  bearing  more  or  less  directly 
upon  the  etyraic,  as  well  as  upon  the  graphic  and  phonetic  peculiari- 
ties of  the  germs,  out  of  which  our  languages  have  sprouted.  We 
must  now  shortly  dispatch  the  other  ways  of  writing,  which  are  men- 
tioned on  page  92,  together  with  some  kindred  mattei's. 

The  ARMENIANS  (ancient  HAIC-ANS),  of  Great  Armenia, 
employed  onginally  the  Syriac,  Persic  or  Arabic  charactei-s  promiscu- 
ously ;  those  of  Lesser  Armenia,  the  Greek.    In  the  5th  century  after 


104  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

Christ,  when  the  Bible  was  to  be  translated  into  their  vernacular, 
Daniel  and  othei-s  tiiod  to  adapt  the  Greek  characters ;  but  these 
being  found  insufficient,  Miesrob,  late  secretary  to  two  kings,  and 
afterwards  a  monk,  travelled  about  to  seek  the  advice  of  learned  men, 
but,  being  unsuccessful,  he  at  last  saw  in  a  dream  a  hand  wnting  out 
what  he  was  in  search  of  and  copied  it,  after  he  had  awakened,  from 
memoiy.  Many  other  writings  are  also  attributed  to  miraculous 
origin.  This  writing  does  not  resemble  any  of  the  ancient  ones. 
The  Zend,  however,  may  have  had  some  influence  on  it  The  direc- 
tion is  rightwards;  tlie  number  of  letters  38,  their  shapes  are  of  4 
sorts  (one  very  showy,  called  animal,  a  lesser  one  called  iron,  a  round 
and  a  cursive  one),  their  names,  power  and  series,  are  as  follows :  aib, 
5jen,  ^n  (hard),  c^a,  jets'  ^a,  e,  jet'  (the  indifferent  vowel ;  see  p.  73), 
^'ue,  ^'e  ( j  FrauQ ;  z'),  iim\  (i  or  e),  ^iun,  x^  (Greek),  dza,  Ajen,  hue, 
tsa,  ffhsit  (Arab  c  deep  guttural  with  a  tinge  of  r),  ds^e,  wjen,  h^  (or 
ye,  aspirated  j),  mie,  ^'a  (s^a),  uo  (Engl,  wo),  ts^a.  (hai-sh  tsk),  pe ; 
ts^e,  rra  (hai-sh),  6'e,  vjov,  ^jun  (Engl,  tuno),  re  (mild),  tzue  hjwn, 
phjm,  khe  (harder  than  x)  ^^^  2  which  were  added  in  the  12th 
century,  /e,  6.  There  are  2  signs  of  spiritus,  as  in  Greek,  3  marks 
of  accents  and  signs  of  punctuation  similar  to  the  Greek.  The  lan- 
guage abounds  in  hissing,  almost  sneezing  sounds.  The  letters  are 
also  marks  of  numbei-s  from  1  to  10,  from  10  to  100,  from  100  to 
1000,  and  then  to  10,000,  and  the  last  of  20,000. 

The  alphabet  of  GEORGIA  (or  IBERIA)  contains  38  letters  of  a 
peculiar  shape,  denoting  numbers  in  the  same  way  as  the  preceding, 
in  the  following  series :  «n,  5an,  ^an,  G?on,  en,  vin,  zen,  ee  (before 
vowels,  asper  lenis  in  Greek),  than  (as  in  th\ck),  in,  c'an,  las,  man, 
nar,  ien,  on,  joar,  2'  (j  Frang),  rae,  san,  tar,  un,  vie,  p*hav,  can  (less 
rough),  [/han  (Arab,  c  tinged  with  r)  qar  (harshest  k),  s'  in  (Engl. 
shm),  ts^\n  (Engl,  chui),  ts\n,  dzW,  fsW  (^o-iX)  ^^'Aar  (tshhar,  see  D6- 
vanagari)  Man  (see  Devanagari),  A'ar,  dz''an  (Engl,  ^am),  hae,  hoe. 
The  Georgians  consider  their  language  to  be  "  sui  generis,''^  without 
affinities  with  othei*s.  Brosset  thinks  it  to  be  akin  to  the  Sanscrit, 
through  the  medium  of  the  Armenian  and  ancient  Pei*sian  languages, 
which  M.  E.  BuRNOUF  doubts  to  be  the  case. 

In  Media  and  Persia  two  l>inds  of  writing  are  to  be  noticed  : 
1.  The  monumental  CUNEIFORM  {wedye-like)  or  arrow-headed 
which  is  five-fold,  viz. :  a)  that  on  Bahjlonian  tiles  and  cylinders, 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  105 

most  complicated ;  b)  of  the  monuments  on  the  boundary  of  Media, 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Euphrates,  on  the  Mediterranean  sea,  through 
the  whole  AnsT/rian  empire,  especially  at  Wan,  Nineveh,  etc. ; 
c)  3  sorts,  of  one  and  the  same  time,  on  the  monuments  of  the  Ache- 
msenian  kings  of  Persia.  Some  belong  to  Media  and  Susiana, 
Lassen,  Rawlisson,  and  Westergaard  have  successfully  removed  the 
chief  impediments  to  their  reading,  and  thus  contributed  to  enlighten 
us  on  many  real  proper  names  of  those  countries.  The  arrows  or 
wedges  themselves  consist  of  groups  which  correspond  to  letters,  ac- 
cording to  a  system  analogous  to  the  D^vanagari.  Cyrus  was  pro- 
nounced Kur''us\  Babylon,  Bahiru  (there  was  no  I  proper  in  the  an- 
cient language),  Xerxes,  Khs^yars^a,  etc.  II.  The  genuine  literal 
writing  of  PERSIA,  very  much  resembling  the  Phoenician.  The 
Syriac  was  also  resorted  to.  The  former  is  found  on  the  Darics 
(from  Darius)  or  coins  of  the  ancient  Persian  kings,  and,  together 
with  Greek  legends,  on  those  of  the  Arsacidce  (from  Arshak,  of  Par- 
thian extraction). 

Coins  of  the  period  of  the  MACCABEES,  from  ^about  143  before 
until  the  birth  of  Christ,  exhibit  to  us  the  ANCIENT  HEBREW 
•graphic,  which  resembles  very  much  the  SAMARITAN  that  sprung 
from  it,  and  in  which  the  Pentateuch  is  written.  That  ancient  alpha- 
bet was  supei*seded  about  Christ's  birth.  It  has  led  to  the  correct 
reading  of  the  Phoenician,  as  w^ell  as  to  the  Samaritan,  between  w  hich 
it  stood.  The  Samaritans  of  the  present  day  call  their  own  writing 
Hebrew,  while  they  attribute  what  we  commonly  name  the  square 
Hebrew,  to  Ezra.  The  words  in  the  Samaritan  codes  are  sepai-ated 
by  dots :  but  there  are  no  vowel-points  and  there  is  but  one  diacritic 
line  to  denote  doubtful  cases  of  reading. 

The  ANCIENT  ARAMAIC  {Ilighlandkh)  alphabet  is  Phoenic. 
as  to  shape,  and  is  first  found  on  Babylonian  tiles,  at  the  side  of  cunei- 
form characters.  It  occurs  later  on  Aram,  monuments  in  JEgypt, 
with  iconogrammas  of  the  Ptolemaic  period ;  and  it  exhibits  the  firet 
long  final  Caph  and  Nun  ;  spaces  between  words ;  Vav,  Jod  as  vow^els, 
in  the  same  ratio  as  the  Chaldaic  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  an  in- 
genious numeric  system. 

Next  to  the  preceding  is  that  found  on  ancient  Syrian  monuments 
among  the  ruins  of  Tadmor  (PALMYRA),  dating  from  the  2d  and 
3d  centuries  a.  c,  till  569  of  the  Seleucidic  era.  Some  of  the  in- 
6 


106  SOUNDS    AND    LETTERS. 

scriptions  are  Syro-Greek  and  SyroLatin.  The  figures  are  more 
flowing  and  more  varied,  than  any  of  their  older  kindred.  Here  also 
are  seen  the  first  connexions  of  letters  with  each  other,  without,  how- 
ever, being  real  ligatures ;  betraying  tachygraphy  (or  swift  writing). 
Yet  the  words  are  not  separated.  This  led  to  the  CHALDAIC 
SQUARE  characters  which  constitute  the  present  so  called  Hebrew  oi 
the  Arabic  Jew^s  of  our  Middle  Age,  as  employed  even  in  Arabic 
books.  According  to  the  Talmudic  legend,  to  Origines  and  Jerome, 
the  Hebrews,  before  Ezra,  made  use  of  Samaritan  characters.  But 
the  ancient  Samaritan  differed  from  the  modern. '  The  modern  He- 
brew lettei-s  sprung  from  the  ^gypto-Aramaic  and  Palmyrenic,  and 
were  fashioned  into  the  square  shape  as  late  as  the  2d  century  of  our 
era.  The  words  are  separated  by  spaces,  and  5  letters  {k^  m,  ?2,  />,  tz) 
are  produced  downwards  when  final.  Buxtorf  strove  in  vain  to 
prove  that  this  square  writing,  as  well  as  its  vocal  signs,  are  as  old  as 
the  decalogue  ;  for  these  latter  were  contrived  at  the  same  time  with 
the  vocalization  of  the  Kenyan  and  of  the  Syriac  books,  or  rather  after 
these.  The  Masorites  who  interpreted  the  Scnpture  by  tradition,  in- 
vented the  points,  probably  between  our  'Zth  and  10th  centunes,  in  their 
onental  schools;  although  the  codes  of  the  synagogues  are  not  al-' 
lowed  to  use  them.  They  do  not  occur  yet  in  the  Talmud  (body  of 
laws,  traditions,  etc.),  nor  in  Jerome,  Closely  connected  with  those 
vowel-points  are  the  diacritic  (on  b,  s,  and  UJ,  s')  and  the  reading 
signs  (which  affect  th6  sounds  of  the  lettei's),  the  signs  of  punctuation 
and  the  accents.  As  regards  the  variations  in  the  writing  of  the  Jews 
of  different  countries,  the  Spanish  are  distinguished  by  simplicity 
and  strength ;  while  the  German  are  inclined,  slender  and  with  shade- 
and  hair-lines ;  the  Italian  keep  the  middle,  being  somewhat  rounder 
but  less  carefully  traced.  Chaldaic  texts  are  also  written  in  square 
characters,  especially  the  translations  of  the  Old  Testament  [Targum) : 
but  vowel-points  are  omitted  in  the  cursive  hand  of  the  Middle  Age, 
which  is  used  in  non-biblic  manuscripts  [Bashi-curdve  in  Spain,  Ger- 
many), and  even  for  writing  and  j)rinting  German,  Polish  and  other 
compositions  of  modern  Jews. 

The  SASSANIDIC  charactei-s  are  an  offspring  of  the  Palmyrenic 
and  Ancient  I'ei'sic,  and  they  occur  on  the  ruins  of  JVakshi-Mustany 
near  Persepolis,  in  the  inscriptions  of  the  mount  Bi-sutun  near  JCir- 
manshah  in  Curdistan,  and  on  the  coins  of  Sassayiidic  kings  (here 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  10^: 

extremely  minute)  whose  dynasty  was  founded  by  Ardeshir  Bahegan, 
The  following  letters  have  not  been  found  yet :  th^  ain,  tz^  q  ;  and 
the  g  is  the  sign  of  the  sound  ts\  as  in  modern  Persian,  which  is  the 
daughter  of  the  Sassanidic,  and  not  a  Shemitic  language. 

But  the  ZEND  letters  of  the  Zend-Avesta^  which  is  a  sacred 
book  {of  life)  attributed  to  Zoroaster^  do  not  belong  to  the  Shemitic 
alphabets ;  being  a  member,  together  with  the  language,  of  the  Ary- 
an (or  Sanskrita)  family  (see  p.  92).  Counting  all  letters,  without 
separating  the  compound  and  modified  ones,  they  amount  to  48,  of 
which,  however,  only  27  represent  simple  sounds  (in  strictest  sense  only 
23);  since  there  are  6  lettei-s  for  diphthongs;  8  for  kh^  gh^  ts\  dz\ 
th^  dh,  w  and  an;  and  2  combinations  ah,  and  st  (see  the  Devana- 
gari,  p.  89).  The  scheme  contains  lettei-s  for  short  e,  long  diph- 
thongal o,  and/,  2,  which  are  not  found  in  Devanagari ;  it  has  4  n\ 
besides  the  «?^,  which  seems  to  be  an  Anusvara ;  but  it  is  without  I 
(see  Chinese).  Direction  is  leftwards.  We  thus  perceive  that  it  is  a 
sort  of  hybrid  between  the  Indie  and  the  Phoenician  system ;  the 
arrangement  being  analogous  to  the  former,  the  direction  in  writing 
and  the  shapes  of  the  letters  to  the  latter.  It  moreover  resembles  in 
some  figures  the  Armenian  and  Georgian,  whose  prototype  it  seems  to 
have  been.  The  PEHLVI  has  only  19  letters  for  15  sounds,  employ- 
ing therefore  diacritic  signs.  In  it  the  I  predominates,  but  r  h  want- 
ing (see  Japanese).  The  numeral  signs  are  in  both  analogous  to  the 
Egyptian,  Palmyrenic  and  othei-s. 

Between  the  6th  and  8th  centuries  of  our  era  a  rounded  and 
strong  sort  of  alphabet,  called  ESTRANGELO,  from  o-r/ooyyvAog,  or 
Evangelic,  from  its  use,  was  formed  and  used  by  Christian,  Syrians. 
There  are  several  varieties  of  it,  i.  e.,  the  double  which  consists  of 
mostly  parallel  outlines,  with  empty  intei-stices;  the  Hierosolgmiian, 
which  is  less  rounded  and  smaller  than  both,  the  full  strong  and  the 
empty  one  ;  the  Nestorian,  which  is  smaller  still ;  lastly,  the  Peschito 
or  cursive,  now  in  use.  The  vowels,  designated  by  the  names  of 
Abraham,  ^Ss'aia,  Odom  and  fT'riah,  were  marked  from  the  begin- 
ning of  this  kind  of  writing,  in  various  ways:  1st  by  a  dot  above  the 
consonant,  for  a,  o,  u,  and  by  one  under  it,  for  e,  i,  ii  ;  afterwards  by 
two  dots  above  or  below  in  different  directions,  and  in  the  8th  century, 
by  minute  recumbent  Greek  vowel-lettei-s  r  ,  <« ,  cj ,  o  ,  ^,  for  a,  e,  t, 
0,  u.     In  some  books  the  two  latter  modes  are  mixed.     All  Peschito- 


108  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

letters  have  two,  and  most  of  them  three  slightly  modified  forms,  ac- 
cording to  their  position  in  the  words  (initial,  medial,  final). 

The  cycle  of  strictly  alphabetic  writings  is  closed  with  the  SABAE- 
IC  (or  Zabic,  or  Mendceic^  or  Galilceic)^  which  resembles  in  its  shape 
both  the  ancient  Syriac  and  the  Sassanidic.  The  vowels  are  here  indi- 
cated by  \,  y  ,  A,  attached  to  the  left  end  of  each  letter,  for  the  desig- 
nation of  w,  ^,  a,  respectively.  As  there  is  no  difference  in  the  sound 
between  the  5th  and  8th  letter  (he,  cheth,  Phoen.),  both  have  a  com- 
mon sign. 

AVe  have  now  arrived  at  those  systems  of  writing,  which  though 
derived  from  the  Phoenician  alphabet,  deviate  from  it  in  some  way. 
Before  qualifying  shortly  the  two  systems  contrived  by  the  Southern 
and  Northern  ARABS,  it  is  necessary  to  remark  that  the  latter 
spreads  over  the  whole  north  of  Africa,  over  the  Osman  (Turkish) 
and  Persian  monarchies,  over  a  great  portion  of  the  East  Indies,  over 
some  islands  and  over  a  considerable  part  of  the  Russian  empire ;  and 
that  the  former  or  .^ETHIOPIC  is  used  in  the  African  countries  south 
of  ^gypt.  Not  all  northern  Shemitic  languages,  however,  are  WTit- 
ten  in  the  Arabic  character,  as  we  had  occasion  to  see ;  nor  are  all 
languages  which  make  use  of  this,  of  the  Shemitic  family ;  as  the 
Turkish  belongs  to  the  Altai-Tataric  stock  (see  p.  91),  the  Persian 
and  Hindostanee  to  the  Aryan,  and  as  the  Malay  forms  again  anoth- 
er group.  There  is  a  constant  confusion  made  in  the  use  of  the  words 
Mohammedan,  Arabic, ^Turkish,  Persian,  by  an  indiscriminate  appli- 
cation of  these  terms,  now  to  the  religion,  now  to  the  nationaHty  and 
language,  now^  to  the  ways  of  writing. 

The  most  ancient  writing  of  the  Arabs  is  the  Himjaritic  of  Ye- 
men, the  history  of  which  is  not  yet  entirely  elucidated.  It  is  also 
called  Musnad  (from  sanacl,  to  support ;  or  from  i^iiid,  India), 
which  is  translated  by  supported,  truncated,  separated,  spurious,  fo- 
reign, Indian,  according  to  the  various  theories  about  its  origin. 
However  this  may  be,  this  kind  of  writing  is  more  analogous  to  the 
-^thiopic,  than  to  the  genuine  Arabic.  This  is  the  language  of  the 
Koran  and  correlated  to  the  Himjaritic  or  southern  dialect,  under  the 
appellation  of  Koreish,  or  the  language  of  Mecca.  The  Koreishite 
Arabs  had  become  acquainted  with  writing  shortly  before  the  birth 
of  their  prophet.  They  modified  the  Estrangelo  alphabet  in  shape, 
without  altering  its  order,  so  tliat  they  had  22  letters ;  and  as  the  first 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  (§00 

solemn  use  of  it  was  made  by  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Kufy  or 
Kufet  (a  city  built  on  the  Euphrates,  in  the  I7th  year  aft^r  the  He- 
g\a  (pron.  Hedz'ra)  which  corresponds  with  639  A.  c.)  in  copying 
the  Koran,  it  obtained  the  name  of  KUFIC.  Its  characters  are  ' 
strong,  column-like ;  it  was  employed  also  on  coins,  tomb-stones  and 
other  monuments,  for  about  3  centuries ;  and  it  is  yet  used  in  Africa, 
in  titles  of  books,  etc.  Mahommed  caused  the  Suras  or  sections  of 
his  book  (al  Koran)  to  be  committed  to  memory  by  those  who  were 
ignorant  of  writing;  he  dictated  some  to  such  as  knew  this  art  (f.  i., 
to  Othman,  Ali^  Mawioin^  etc.),  who  wrote  them  (as  they  had  no 
paper)  on  leather,  parchment,  palm-leaves,  bones,  stones,  etc.,  and  he 
is  said  to  have  written  himself  on  shoulder-blades  of  various  quadru- 
peds. Inaccuracies  w^ere  ordered  to  be  avoided  by  daily  reading. 
But  as  discrepancies  in  reading  were  still  growing,  Abubekr  caused 
Zeid  ben  Tabeth,  one  of  the  scribes  of  the  prophet,  to  collect  the 
whole  and  to  devise  means  of  writing  it  correctly.  Diacritic  points 
to  distinguish  the  individual  sounds  of  the  consonants  of  the  lan- 
guage, and  points  to  indicate  vowels^  were  thus,  at  last,  contrived ; 
though  the  Kufites  had  already  used  three  dots  (above,  on,  and^  be- 
low the  line  of  the  lettei-s)  for  this  latter  purpose.  The  Hebrew 
Rahhis  imitated  this  method,  for  the  square  Chaldaic  alphabet  (see 
above).  To  the  22  original  letters  6  were  added,  thus  raising  the 
number  of  the  Arabic  system  to  28.  The  order  also  was  altered  into 
the  following : 

1-  I,     Elif  or  Alif ;  strong  breathing. 

2-  o>  Ba, 

3.  ^^  Ta, 

4.  ^,  T"a,  Engl.  ^Aank. 

5.  C)  Z>2;'aj  Engl.  Jar. 

6.  C  Ha^  Engl.  Aat,  rough. 

7.  -^y  Kha^  Greek  ;;^,  Germ.  nicAt. 

8.  <>,    DaL 

9.  6,    Ual,  Engl.  ^Aey. 
10.  s,     Ra, 

11.^,    Za, 
12.  ijw,  Sin. 


110  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

13.  Jj:,.  SHfi,  Eng.  shin. 

14.  \jO,  Sad  (harsher  than  12). 

15.  jj^,  D^ad  (harsher  than  8). 
T'a  (harsher  than  3). 

JJa  (almost  like  15  ;  cerehral  Devanagari). 
A'in  (deep  guttural,  almost  nasal). 
Ghdin  (Ain  with  a  tinge  of  r). 
Fa. 
Kaf. 

Caf  (softer  than  Kaf). 
Lam. 
Mint. 
Nun. 

'  He^  Engl.  Ae,  or  silent  as  in  /tour. 
Vav,  French  oii^  Engl,  in  fwll. 
Ya,  European  i,  Engl,  in  meet. 
Lam-Elif  (combination  of  la). 

We  see  that  Nos.  2,  3,  4  are  disting:uished  only  by  diacritic  points  ;  5,  6, 
7  also;  8,  9;  10,  11;  12,  13;  14.  15;  16,  17;  18,  19;  20.  21;  so  that  there 
are  but  17  real  charactef-s.  The  Persians  and  Turks  insert  the  following  4, 
viz.,  between  2  and  3,  the  character  of  B,  with  3  points  below,  for  Pa;  be- 
tween 5  and  6,  the  character  ^  with  3  points  below,  for  Ts'im,  Engl. 

chm  ;  between  11  and  12,  the  character  r  with  3  points  above;  for  z^a,  Eng. 
in  o^ier;  and  between  22  and  23  the  character  ^with  3  points  above,  for 
Gaf:  so  that  they  count  32  letters  ;  and  the  Turks  have,  moreover,  a  modi- 
fied Gaf,  named  Gef  to  denote  a  nasal  somid  which  is  called  Sagumun.  In 
Malay  u  the  Persian  p,  z'  do  not  occur;  but  there  are  4  peculiar  modifica- 
tions of  the  4>)  c,  \^  and  ^  marked  with  3  superscribed  points  each,  so 
that  the  letter-ocheme  contains  34  signs. 

The  most  usual  cliaracter  of  this  system  is  the  Neshki ;  but  the 
Turks  favor  a  modification  of  it,  which  they  call  Divdruj^  on  account 
of  its  being  employed  in  state-papers;  while  the  Persians  delight  in 
the  Ta-lik  or  hanging  character,  wliich  is  esj)ecially  used  for  writing 
poems.    There  are,  on  the  whole,  IG  modifications,  of  which  8  among 


16. 

ic, 

17. 

i&. 

18. 

£' 

19. 

£' 

20. 

o, 

21. 

O' 

22. 

<^, 

23. 

J, 

24. 

r 

25. 

U' 

26. 

8, 

27. 

y 

.28. 

^5) 

y, 

SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  Ill 

the  Arabs,  6  among  the  Turks  and  2  among  the  Persians.     Most  of 
the  letters  have  three  forms  :  initial,  medial,  and  final.     The  vowels 
may  be  seen  on  p.  70  in  J.  Wallis'  scheme.     The  direction  is  left- 
wards.    At  the  end  of  words  grammatic  inflections  are  marked  by 
the  Tanwin  or  nasal  signs,  by  doubling  the  vowel-marks,  thus  ''''  for  a', 
ff  i'  or  e\  *'  o'  (sounding  hke  the  French  sans,  fin,  on.     See  p.  77, 
nunnation).    Peculiar  signs  placed  outside  of  the  line  are  the  Hamza 
(f:),  the  Teshdid,  sign  of  duplication  (J!)  the  Meddah  (.'n)  the  Wesla 
(^  and  the  Dz'esma  («)  or  quiescence.     The  order,  vocalization  and 
pronunciation  of  some  lettei*s  are  modified  in  Morocco,  Fas,  Tunis, 
etc.     No  other  nation  surpasses  these  orientals  in  their  respect  for  lite- 
rary men  and  for  calligraphers.     They  spare  no  pains  in  ornamenting 
their  books  and  letters  with  all  kinds  of  flourishes,  devices,  mono- 
gi'ams,  in  various  colors ;  and  they  usually  say  "  a  fine  hand  opens 
the  gates  to  all  treasures,^"*  and  writing  is  "  The  tongue  of  the  handT 
They  use  a  species  of  reed  (Calam,  Lat.  calamus)  for  tracing  the  let- 
ters on  the  left  knee,  not  moving  the  hand,  but  by  shifting  the  paper, 
which  has  been  polished  beforehand.     Printing  was  introduced  in 
Constantinople  by  Ibrahim  Effendi,  about  1730,  whose  first  printed 
books  w^ere  his  own  history  of  the  Ottoman  empire  and  a  Turkish 
Grammar,  with  an  explanation  in  French.     The  Jews,  however,  em- 
ployed the  square  Hebrew  types  before  him.     ^fore  ample  details 
are  forbidden  by  our  limits :  it  may,  nevertheless,  interest  some  read- 
ers to  know  that  Isaac  Newton  believed  that  Mosheh  had  learned 
letters  from  Medianitic  Arabs.     Another  noteworthy  fact  is,  that  the 
Vizir  Ehn  Moclah,  who  is  honored  with  the  title  of  "  inventor  of  writ- 
ing," for  having  improved  the  rough  Kufic  letters,  and  who  had 
copied  three  times  the  whole  Koran ;  had,  notwithstanding  this  pious 
performance,  been  punished  with  the  amputation  of  both  his  hands 
and  of  his  tongue,  in  punishment  for  crimes  committed  against  the 
state.     After  having  lost  his  right  hand,  he  continued  writing  with  a 
reed,  which  was  attached  to  the  stump  of  his  fore-arm.     Among  the 
many  very  peculiar  customs  and  ceremonies   concerning  the  writing, 
adorning,  folding,  sealing,   and  sending  of  lettei's,  one  which  has  a 
bearing  upon  what  has  been  said,  on  p.  71,  about  the  omission  of 
vowels,  deserves   to  be   noticed.     To  mark  the  letters  of  an  epistle 
with  points,  is  considered  a  want  of  politeness  among  the  nations,  we 
are  speaking  of ;  as  it  would  presuppose  him,  to  whom  they  write,  not 


|L|.P  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

to  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  language,  as  well  as  with  the 
graphic  art.     The  principle  of  writing  now  under  consideration  is- 
based  upon  etymology  rather  than  u|>on  phonetics. 

The  ten  crphers  of  numbers^  which  we  also  use,  with  somewhat 
modified  forms,  originate  not  from  the  Arabic,  but  from  a  more  an- 
cient character.  They  are  employed  also  in  D^vanagari,  Bengali  and 
other  Indie  writings,  with  some  alterations  in  their  shape. 

The  peculiar  system  of  writing  among  the  southern  Arabs  in 
Africa,  who  are  known  und^^r  the  name  of  ETHIOPIANS  (without 
being  negroes),  although  tliey  call  themselves  AJAZJAN,  and  their 
empire  Geez  (i)ron.  not  like  the  Engl,  geese !),  is,  like  their  language, 
of  two  kinds,  viz.:  1.  Lesan  Ghaaz  (language  of  study)  or  L,  mut- 
zapJi  (I.  of  bofjks),  considered  as  a  sacred  tongue,  and  made  known 
to  Europe  by  Hiob  Ludoi-f,  a  cotemporary  and  friend  of  Leibnitz. 
The  number  of  letters  is  20,  their  order  and  names  are  given  here, 
with  the  remark,  that, — with  the  exception  of  the  13th,  which  is  the 
representative  and  parent  of  all  vowels  (our  A),  which  shows  its  pri- 
rnax:y^  here  also,  in  being  the  very  centre  of  this  inont  remarkable 
scheme^  and  whose  modifications  produce  the  5  vowels  (not  counting 
their  quantity)  a,  w,  z,  a,  e,  e  (also  mute ;  see  page  73)  and  6  ; — all 
have  a  vowel-sign  attached  to  their  body,  thus  forming  7  columns  of 
syllables,  in  the  order  of  the  vowels,  which  has  just  been  enumemted. 

Num.  Value.  ^  Num.  Value. 

1.  Xoi     ^  50.  Caf 

2.  Lawi  60.  Vav 

3.  Haut,x  VO.  Ain 

4.  Mai  80.  Zai 

5.  Saut,  sharp  90.  lam  an 

6.  Rys  100.  Dent 

7.  S'^t,s'  200.  Geml 

8.  Qaf  300.  T'ait 

9.  Bet  400.  Pait 
10.  Tavi                    ^  500.  Tzadai 
20.  Harm,  x             '  600.  Zappa 
30.  Naha  700.  a  Fos 
40.  ALF  800.  Psa,  ^a. 

The  peculiarity  of  the  following  combined  sounds  is  also  wortliy 


SOUBTDS  AND  LETTERS.  113 

of  notice,  for  the  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  tenues  consonants 
(see  p.  76),  namely  ^iq,  ''ip^  ''it  and  Hz  (Germ.  ts). 

2.  Lesan  v£ghu8  (language  royal)  is  the  common  system  which 
came  into  use  since  the  extinction  of  the  Zagee  dynasty.  It  is  called 
the  AMHARIC  (or  Abyssinian)  language,  consists  of  no  more  than 
one-half  of  ^thiopic,  i.  e.,  Shemitic  words,  and  is  less  guttural.  The 
writing  is  the  same  with  the  preceding,  with  the  addition  of  1  more 
characters  for  s'a  (Engl.  ^Aam),  Tydi  (Magyar  tyvk  ;  see  p.  103),  iVya 
(Ital.  gn)^  Gr.  x^  (Germ,  nic^t),  2'a  (Fr.  ^our),  i)ya  (Magyar),  7Va 
(Engl.  cAat).  This  language  stands  in  the  same  relation  to  the  sacred 
Ethiopian,  as  the  Spanish,  Italian  and  other  modern  languages  of 
Europe  to  the  ancient  Latin.  This  ratio  is  manifested  by  the  majority 
of  the  hissing  and  softened  (mouilles)  sounds,  which  occur  both,  in  the 
Amharic  and  in  our  languages,  when  compared  with  their  ancient 
parents.  The  shapes  of  the  letters  (some  of  which,  f.  i.,  the  G^  X,  iV 
^in,  §,  aS"  I'esemble  the  Phoenician  characters),  the  direction  of  the 
writing,  from  left  to  nght,  the  method  of  vocalizing  and  of  using  the 
sign  of  quiescence  (5/iVa,  virdma^  dz'ezma)^  and  the  singularity  of 
the  order  of  the  lettei-s,  are  all  apt  to  excite  the  suspicion,  that  the 
JEthippic  system  of  writing  had,  at  some  time,  felt  the  influence  of 
the  Devanagari.  It  is,  indeed,  a  genuine  syllaharium.  The  nota- 
tion of  numbei*s,  however,  follows  the  Phoenician  method. 

We  leave  now  the  Shemitic  languages  again,  and  must,  before 
issuing  from  the  eclipse  of  lettei-s,  charactei-s,  figures,  ciphei*s,  etc., 
throw  a  glance  upon  some  other  methods  of  writing.  We  find,  con- 
nected with  the  Nestorian,  from  which  it  has  sprung,  and  not  without 
some  influence  from  the  Devanagari,  the  UIGURIC  or  Tataric 
method.  It  consists  of  1 5  characters  (though  a  1 6th  be  added  by 
A.  LuMLEY  Davids,  in  his  Turkish  grammai)  for  the  commemoration 
of  the  following  sounds :  1,  A  (and  Arab  s),  2,  B  (and  P.  F),  3,  T 
(and  io),  4,  Dz'  (Engl.  ;oy ;  and  for  Ts'  Engl.  cAat),  5,  Kh  {Gr,  x 
and  Arab  ^),  6,  D,  7,  R,  8,  Z  (and  S,  6,  Je,  ^,  ^),  9,  S'  (Engl. 
sham)  10,  K(andG),  11,  L,  12,  M,  13,  N,  14,  V,  15,  I  (in  yes). 
The  Turks  made  use  of  this  system,  before  adopting  the  Arabic. 

So-called  SARACENIC  letters  of  various  shapes  may  be  found 
in  some  treatises  on  writing,  which,  however,  cannot  be  depended  upon, 
for  want  of  a  critic  appreciation  of  what  they  furnish. 

Among  the  Celtic  languages,  the  IRISH  possesses  two  kinds  of 
6* 


'Ifttt  ^  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

writing,  the  ancient  niystenoiis  OgJmm  Chraov,  the  characters  of 
which  are  attached  to  a  horizontal  line  and  which  consist  of  5  sections, 
of  5  letters  each,  arranged  in  the  following  order:  a)  1,  2,  3,  4,  5 
vertical  strokes  under  the  line,  to  represent  6,  /,  /,  «,  n,  respectively ; 
h)  as  nnany  such  strokes  above  the  line,  for  A,  c?,  t,  c,  q  respectively ; 
c)  the  same  number  of  oblique  strokes  crossing  the  line,  for  m,  g^  ng^ 
i,  r  ;  c?)  1,  2,  3,  4,  5  vertical  strokes  crossing  the  line,  to  recall  a,  o, 
Uj  6,  i ;  etc.,  e),  and  lastly  a  cross,  and  zero  cutting,  an  arc  and  double 
crate  under,  and  a  treble  crate  above  the  line  to  represent  the  diph- 
thongs eu^  oj,  uj,  jo,  ao  (pi-onounced  naturally,  and  not  as  in  the  vul- 
gar Engl.  way).     Their  explanation  is  thus  introduced : 

"  For  mystic  lines  in  days  of  yore 
A  branch  and  fescue  the  Druids  bore, 
By  which  their  science,  thoughts  and  arts, 
Obscurely  veiled,  they  would  impart." 

The  same  order  is  observed  in  the  enumeration  of  the  names  of  the 
ancient  literal  characters,  i.  e.,  jSobel,  ghost ;  Loth,  light ;  jPoran, 
cunning ;  /Salja,  wave,  sea ;  iVabgadon,  ruler,  etc. ;  with  one  charac- 
ter more  (Peithboc)  intercalated  after  the  13th.  The  'Other  series 
agi'ees  with  our  alphabetic  series^  of  recent  date,  and  it  contains  but 
18  letters,  i.  e.  ^ilm,  arms,  palm;  ^eith,  beech,  shelter,  good;  (7oll, 
hazel,  food  ;  i^ujr,  oak,  God  (hence  Dru-id,  Gr.  Spis  oak ;  comp.  Engl. 
tree),  ^'adad,  aspen,  timid  ;  i^earn,  alder,  barren ;  G^ort,  ivy,  grasp ; 
/oga,  dead,  yew ;  Zuis,  quick-beam  ;  it/ujn,  vine,  juice ;  iV'ujn,  ash ; 
On,  or  Oin,  bloom  ;  Peith,  dwarf  elder ;  i^ujs,  bore-tree-elder ;  aSujI, 
willow  (L.  salix) ;  TmQ,  furze  ;  Uy,  cypress,  health  ;  J^uath,  hawthorn. 
To  these  are  added  §uert,  apple-tree ;  aiV6'ath  (nasal  ng),  reed ;  and 
Zegthrojd,  sloe-tree. 

The  English  ought  to  be  ashamed  to  continue  their  ridiculous 
tread-mill- method  of  spelling,  when,  if  they  are  too  brain-lazy  and 
too  ear-dull  to  amend  what  is  of  the  very  fii-st  importance  in  education, 
they  might  only  condescend  to  learn  from  the  sons  of  Erin,  whom 
they  delight  in  sneering  at.  But  the  very  Gypsies,  might  teach  them 
many  useful  lessons  in  the  treatment  and  appreciation  of  that  gift,  by 
which  man  surpasses  all  his  fellow-animals,  i.  e;,  of  speech  which  is 
but  the  explosion  of  reason.  As  for  the  English  vowels,  the  cat 
m-IeAoU-s  a  lesson,  which  beats  all  pronouncing  dictionaries  of  Walker, 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  115 

Sheridan,  etc.,  and  all  the  wise  committees  for  the  diffusion  of  know- 
ledge (see  pp.  13  and  69). 

The  principles  upon  which  the  various  graphic  systems  are  based 
have  been,  it  is  believed,  sufficiently  illustrated  for  the  purpose  of  this 
book.  Although  the  subject  of  visible  language, — for  writing  is  no- 
thing else, — is  very  far  from  being  exhausted  by  those  scanty  details, 
there  is  great  danger  for  the  aim,  this  work  has  in  view,  of  rather 
frightening  than  attracting  the  reader,  by  displaying  before  him  what, 
under  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  is  indispensably  necessary  for  a 
proper  appreciation  of  the  whole  disquisition.  The  leading  ideas  of 
the  schemes  of  writing,  and  not  the  figures  of  the  lettei's,  or  signs 
themselves,  are  to  be  kept  in  view.  Many  modifications  of  every 
mode  of  writing ;  many  attempts  to  simplify  either  the  signs,  or  to 
arrange  their  series,  or  to  bring  them  into  accordance  with  the  sounds 
(especially  in  those  languages  whose  pronunciation  diverges  from  ihe 
letters),  have  not  even  been  hinted  at ;  as  not  afiecting  the  question 
which  it  is  wished  should  be  settled.  But,  in  order  to  show,  that  the 
omissions  are  not  owing  to  a  want  of  regard  for  those  attempts,  and 
also,  that  many  interesting  points  are  connected  with  the  history  of 
writing,  some  few  things  will  be  touched,  currente  calamo,  before  con- 
cluding this  chapter. 

Bishop  WiLKiNs  proposed  a  philosophic  language  and  a  simple 
mode  of  writing,  which  he  called  the  real  character.  This  resembles, 
in  several  points,  I.  Pitman's  characters  w^hich  he  names  phonetic. 
Dr.  Ben  J.  Franklin  suggested  something  less  tachygraphic  (or  short- 
hand-like), by  applying  the  following  26  lettei's,  the  shapes  of  which 
he  modified  a  little,  to  write  English  with,  viz.,  o,  Gr.  cd  (to  represent 
aw)^  a,  e,  z",  u  (oo),  and  q  (with  an  opening  above,  or  rather  y ;  to 
represent  u) ; — A,  </,  ^,  h  (lengthened  downwards ;  to  represent  the 
usual  sK)^  a  modified  Gr.  t]  (to  denote  ng)^  n  ; — r,  t,  c?,  Z,  /  (5),  2, 
Anglo-Saxon  )>  (for  th  in  ^Aistle),  and  j>  (for  th  in  tK\^) ; — /,  v,  ft,  jp,  m. 
This,  however,  is  scarcely  an  improvement  on  the  usual  treatment  ol 
our  alphabet.  Leibnitz,  Hi.  Ludolf,  Sir  Wm.  Jones,  Pet.  Du  Pon- 
ceau, John  Pickering,  and  many  other  hnguists,  endeavored  to 
harmonize  writing  with  speaking.  All  attempts  by  which  the  order 
of  our  alphabet  (as  it  has  come  down  to  us  from  the  remotest  anti- 
quity) has  been  altered,  turn  out  to  be  rather  injurious  than  bene- 
ficial.    The  reason  of  this  is  found  in  the  circumstance,  that  not  the 


116  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

order,  but  the  treatment  of  it  is  wrong.  This  fact  cannot  be  sufficient- 
ly repeated,  asserted,  iHustrated  and  inculcated  ;  as  it  constitutes  the 
point  on  which  the  entire  organism  of  language  is,  so  to  say,  hinged. 
Before  beginning  a  new  chapter,  it  is  necessary  to  make  some  ob- 
servations, in  conclusion  of  all  that  has  hitherto  been  said,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  preparatory  to  what  follows.     Hence  a  synoptic 


RE  SUME 

will  now  be  given,  which  is  to  be  a  line  of  demarkation  between  the 
preceding  disquisitions,  whose  chief  tendency  is  destructive  of  the 
usual  method  of  teaching  the  elements  of  language,  and  between 
the  following  researches  which  are  constructive.  Children  and  other 
beginners  should  not  be  taught  so,  as  to  acquire  false  notions  of  the 
very  elements  of  instruction.  The  baneful  influences  of  such  pro- 
ceedings have  been  pointed  out  from  p.  10  to  17,  and  in  other 
portions  of  the  preceding  chapters.  The  great  mission  of  the  Eng- 
lish language,  its  excellence,  its  connexion  with  Latin,  Gernjan  and 
other  languages,  etc.,  and  its  ill-treatment,  have  been  dwelt  upon  from 
p.  17  to  19.  The  pernicious  effects  of  the  so  called  spelling  have 
been  touched  on  p.  19,  and  elsewhere;  the  stagnation  of  the  sj>iritual 
conception  of  language,  the  piactices  of  publishers,  professors,  sehol- 
ai-s,  are  shortly  adverted  to  on  j^p.  33,  34.  The  whole  of  Chapter  II.  is 
but  a  patliologic  essay  on  the  prevailing  ci-ucifixion  of  the  English 
language,  which  bids  fair,  as  humanity  now  stands,  to  be  the  saviour 
of  its  liberty  and  civilization.  The  hghts  and  shadows  of  I.  Pitman's 
phonograj)hy  are  there  set  forth.  A  remedy,  steering  clear,  both  of 
Pitman's  shoals  and  of  the  fashionable-scholastic  rocks  and  whirl- 
poolfi,  is  recommended  on  p.  53  to  G2,  by  making  the  pronunciation 
of  Latin  the  canon  for  the  right  analysis  of  the  English,  and  of  other 
languages,  without  destroying  their  peculiarities.  In  Chap.  III.  the 
audible  language,  and  its  representation  to  the  eyes,  is  developed. 
From  the  different  ways  of  writing,  we  learn,  besides  the  affinity  of 
the  sounds  to  one  another,  their  deviations  from  the  prototypes.  We 
perceive  especially,  that  the  guttural  sounds  have  been  what  the 
Fi'ench  say  dtnatvres  (dis-natiired,  i.  e.,  deprivpd  of  their  native  qual- 
ity and  importance) ;  that  the  dentals  have  been  developed  into  many 
hissing  sounds,  without  being  so  denatures ;  that  the  labials  have 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  117 

least  been  impaired ;  and  that  the  vocals  have  been  least  attended  to 
in  writing. 

Whatever  may  be  the  praises,  which  modern,  especially  German, 
writers  bestow  on  the  Sanskrita  language  and  on  its  Devanagari  wri- 
ting ;  however  great  may  be  the  merits  of  the  Indian  grammarians 
and  lexicographers,  in  upsetting  our  middle-age  theories,  and  the  He- 
brew rooting  (ndiculed  by  Butler  in  his  Hudibras) :  the  Phoenician 
system  of  writing,  of  which  ours  is  an  offspring,  carries  away  the 
palm  of  victory,  and  our  languages  (especially  the  Latin  and  Teutic) 
display  a  more  organic,  harmonious,  and  complete  array  of  nature-, 
nriind-,  mouth-  and  ear-satisfying  elements,  than  that  illustrious  Aryan 
princess  of  tongues  herself.  The  greater  the  sin  on  the  part  of  those 
who,  while  murdering  both  the  Latin  and  their  own  English  language, 
poison  their  own  intellectual,  aesthetic,  and  even  moral  faculties,  de 
gaite  de  coeur  /" 

But,  in  order  to  see  all  that ;  in  order  not  to  consider  the  writer 
of  this  as  a  visionary,  as  a  literary  incendiary,  as  a  hunter  after 
paradoxes,  as  a  companion  fit  to  associate  with  "  mysterious  rappers," 
with  "fantastic  (rather  moon-struck)  Davises,"  with  "phrenom nemo- 
technicians,  astrologers,  mental  chy mists,  etc.,  etc.,"  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  those,  who  may  be  inclined  to  be  unjust  towards  him 
and  towards  themselves,  to  undergo  the  tedious  trouble  of  a  patient 
examination  of  the  IL  and  IIL  Chaps.  The  roots  of  knowledge  are 
hitter^  but  its  fruits  are  sweet ;  the  roots  are  hidden  in  the  ground, 
but  the  blossoms  and  fruits  expand  in  the  air  and  light.  No  vessel 
with  great  many  sails  is  safe,  without  commensurate,  counterbalancing 
w^eight  in  the  hull.  No  medicine  can  avail  aught,  without  being 
taken,  however  unpalatable  it  may  be.  No  cure  can  be  admitted  or 
sought  for,  unless  the  person  to  be  healed  perceive  or  admit,  on  being 
told,  that  he  is  sick.  Ignorance  is  bad,  but  not  the  worst  of  all  con- 
ditions, in  which  the  human  mind  may  be  found  :  for  if  once  per- 
ceived, it  may  admit  of  being  removed.  It  is  simple  darkness  or 
want  of  light,  and  may  be  dispelled  by  light.  The  worst  of  evils  is 
the  ignorance  of  ignorance.  The  next  to  it  is  false,  lob-sided  know- 
ledge, especially  when  accompanied  by  conceit,  by  self-satisfaction. 
Ignorance  is  a  lesser  evil  than  either.  False  knowledge  can  be  liken- 
ed (not  to  a  simply  dark  room,  i.  e.,  to  pure  ignorance,  but)  to  a  room 
full  of  shining  vapoi-s.     No  hght,  however  bright,  can  shine  with  its 


h 


118  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

pure  native  lustre  in  a  damp  mist;  it  is  but  apt  to  give  a  false  glare, 
a  pseudo-halo  around  itself  and  is  ever  in  danger  of  being  quenched. 
Such  is  the  will-o'-the-wisp  (the  ignis  fatuus)  of  our  scholarship.  A 
burning  gas  which  issues  from  the  graves  of  the  great  minds  of  anti- 
quity, without  being  the  clear,  steady  gas  of  modern  science :  mis- 
leading into  swamps  of  despondency.  Ollendorff  the  admired  by 
Capt.  Basil  Hall,  though  but  born  of  an  amalgam  of  Hamilton^  Du 
Fief  Jacotot  and  Manesca  (each  better  than  he),  is  sublimated  into 
the  "  Euclid  in  Grammar!^''  by  Wm.  H.  Pinnock  (in  his  iii*st  Lat. 
Gram,  and  exercises.  Lond.  1844). 

All  indolent  minds  that  shun  dry  details  of  a  demonstration,  and 
are  accustomed  to  rely  on  mere  assertions,  may, — provided  they  wish 
to  benefit  themselves,  with  as  little  trouble  as  practicable, — abstain 
from  ruminating  over  the  last  two  chapters,  and  take  the  rest  of  the 
book  (from  here)  on  trust.  Notwithstanding  I.  Pitman's  asseveration 
that  "  it  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  mention  any  thing  which  is  so 
self-evident^  were  it  not  that  one  of  the  most  pertinaciously  repeated 
arguments  against  the  introduction  of  an  alphabetical  system  which 
shall  truly  represent  the  sounds  uttered  by  the  speaker,  is  derived 
from  etymology^  only^^"* — the  author  dares  to  commit,  in  all  due  def- 
erence to  Pitman's  great  merits  in  another  direction,  the  crime  of  so 
pertinacious  a  heresy,  as  is  expressed  in  this  extract.  There  is  often 
among  great  many  reasons  for  or  against  something,  always  one, 
which  is  quite  sufficjent,  by  itself,  to  produce  the  effects  which  may  be 
plausibly  attributed  to  every  other  one  of  them,  or  to  all  together. 
It  is  so  in  the  case  in  question.  What  is  commonly  termed  Etymolo- 
gy (if  the  word  be  taken  in  a  strict  sense),  and  what  we  might  bet- 
ter express  by  the  word  Germ  (Comp.  p.  5*7),  fully  settles  the  ques- 
tion, in  the  sense,  in  which  it  has  been  taken  on  p.  52. 

Long  and  manifold  experience  has  convinced  the  author,  that,  as 
no  solid,  airy,  wholesome,  elegant,  capacious,  heavy  and  durable  pal- 
ace can  be  reared  on  groundless  quicksand,  or  morass ;  without  deep 
strong  piles ;  at  least  without  a  firm  and  massive  under-building ;  out 
of  mere  brittle,  rotten,  slender,  materials ;  without  any  braces  (unless 
the  materials  by  themselves  do  support  the  whole,  as  the  pyramids  of 
JEgypt  do),  links,  mortar  and  other  bindings ;  so  no  system  of  an 
analogous  educational  edifice,  for  the  masses  of  the  people,  as  well  as 
for  the  lettered  few,  can  be  constructed,  according  to  the  now  univer- 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  119 

sally  prevailing  methods.  Multiply  schools,  as  much  as  you  please ; 
fatten  administrators,  trustees,  visitors,  committees,  boards  of  educa- 
tion, etc.,  with  the  legacies  of  thousands  of  Girards,  Smithsons,  and 
other  posthumous  lovei-s  of  the  so  called  ^'  diffusion  of  useful  know- 
ledge ;"  send  legions  of  schoolmasters  abroad ;  consume  mountains  of 
hnen-,  hemp-,  cotton-,  etc.-,  rags,  and  seas  of  ink ;  do  all  these  things, 
and  any  thing  else  beyond  all  that  can  be  done,  within  the  magic 
circle  of  your  Spelling,  Grammar,  etc., — but  without  leaping  out 
of  it  with  one  bold,  decided  bound,  far  out  of  the  reach  of  their  be-^ 
witched  atmosphere : — and  all  those  paraphernalia  will  but  teach 
more  millions  of  young  ideas  how  to  shoot — off  from  the  mark,  to 
squint  off  into  the  regions  of  gloom  (see  pp.  33,  34,  59).  You  will, 
in  continuing  to  act,  as  you  have  hitherto  done,  only  multiply  false 
witnesses  (martyi*s  in  both  senses,  i.  e.,  in  the  genuine  of  witnesses, 
and  in  the  secondary  of  victims)  against  truth. 

There  are  no  two  ways  about  the  use  of  this  book.  You  must 
either  throw  it  away,  or  follow  its  lead.  To  go  between  these  two 
paths  would  amount  to  the  same  thing,  as  if  a  surgeon  who,  after  he 
had  begun  to  amputate  a  limb,  should  cease  amidst  the  operation.  In 
both  cases  the  consequences  would  be  the  same.  Those  who  wish  to 
be  cured  of  their  hterary  and  linguistic  lameness,  must  nerve  them- 
selves to  undergo  the  whole  operation.  As  for  the  othei-s,  their 
sneers,  shoulder-shruggings  and  anathemas  will  only  honor  the  author, 
and  recoil  on  themselves,  in  the  shape  of  want  of  success  in  learning 
language.  Thus  then,  friends  of  your  own  progTess,  clear  the  way 
of  all  the  rubbish  that  opposes  your  free  steps,  and  follow  me  to  the 
constructive,  more  cheerful,  because  physiologic  and  hygieinic,  de- 
partn:ient  of  the  science  of  language.  With  the  Ariadnic  clue, 
which  we  have  glomerated  on  the  pages  69  to  78,  especially  on  69 
and  75,  we  shall  be  able  to  tread  safely  our  way  through  the  mazes 
of  the  glossic  labyrinth,  in  spite  of  all  hobgobUns  mentioned  on  p.  16. 

Take,  in  addition,  the  following  CONCORDANCE  of  ivriting  tk 
same  sounds  in  the  Latin,  German,  English,  French,  Itahan,  Spanisl 
and  Portuguese  languages. 

The  liquids  and  labials  offer  the  least  obliquity  of  the  sounds 
from  the  letters.  M  and  N,  when  closing  a  syllable,  or  rather,  when 
preceded  by  a  vowel  in  the  same  syllable,  are  uttered,  in  a  way  which 
has  been  pointed  out  on  p.  76  ;  they  denote  that  the  voice  is  to  sound 


120  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

through  the  nose.  Hence  they  are  called  nasals  in  all  languages,  but 
with  this  important  difference,  that,  while  they  are  pronounced  in 
most  languages  and  only  determine  the  passage  of  the  air  through  the 
cavity  of  the  nose,  they  are  mere  signs  of  so  called  nasal  vowels  in 
French  and  Portuguese.  In  the  latter  the  nasality  is  more  strong  and 
is  marked  in  many  words,  where  m  is  omitted,  by  a  sign  called  til, 
f.  i.,  6e,  hua^  ndo,  razdo,  etc.,  instead  of  6em,  Fr.  bien ;  huma,  Fr. 
une ;  and  non  ;  raison.  In  French  the  preceding  e  is  changed  into  a, 
i  into  e,  u  into  t),  and  in  the  Lat.  termination  -nm  into  o,  f.  i.,  entendre, 
pron.  a'ta^dr  ;  fin^  fe' ;  parfum,  pron.  parfo' ;  alhum^  fax'tum^  pron. 
alho\  facto\  With  respect  to  the  R,  it  is  uttered  in  all  those  lan- 
guages with  a  clear,  strong,  rattling  sound,  and  not  so  sluggishly  as 
in  English.  In  consequence  of  this  laziness  of  the  English  tongue, 
and  of  the  prejudice,  that  the  genuine  sound  of  r  is  barbanan,  or 
ungenteel,  or  some  such  thing,  very  few  Englishmen  and  Ameri- 
cans pronounce  it  correctly  in  foreign  languages;  thus  they  mostly 
say  :  il  imrle^  marcher^  he  speaks,  to  walk  or  march,  as  if  they  were 
'pale,  pale,  mdcher^  to  chew,  and  as  if  written  in  their  own  language 
pawl,  mawshay.  Of  the  labials,  the  B  is  pronounced  in  Span,  only, 
but  merely  before  vowels,  and  somewhat  weaker  before  -r,  I  (in  the 
same  syllable,  in  the  middle  of  a  word),  as  if  it  were  v :  hence  it  is 
also  wntten  v  in  some  books,  especially  of  older  date.  F  is  written 
in  Lat.,  G.,  Engl.,  Fr.,  also  ph,  and  in  G.  v,  f.  i.,  Vater,  father ;  voll, 
full ;  whereas  the  s<pund  represented  by  v  in  all  the  other  languages 
is  written  in  G.  with  w  (which  is  found  in  Engl,  only  as  a  sign  of  the 
compound  sound  uv,  see  p.  58).  The  Engl,  and  Span.  Y  consonant 
(being  also  a  compound  of  ?}')  is  not  used,  as  such,  in  any  of  the  other 
languages  under  this  sign ;  being  represented  in  Lat.  by  I  (in  some 
books  by  J),  in  Ger.,  Ital.,  by  J. 

The  most  remarkable  discrepancies  affect  the  most  important  ele- 
ments of  language,  i.  e.,  the  guttural  sounds.  K  and  Q  have,  how- 
ever, escaped  the  ill-treatment,  which  the  othei-s  have  undergone,  in 
the  languages  we  now  speak  of;  although  the  former  has  become 
tainted  in  Swedish  and  the  latter  was  dethroned  in  many  cases  by 
the  C  in  Spanish.  The  Latin  C  which  never  was  any  thing  else  than 
k  in  every  position,  remains  Ar,  in  the  languages  now  before  us,  only 
before  the  hard  (heavy,  low)  vowels  a,  o,  «,  before  consonants  and  at 
the  end  of  syllables.     Yet  even  in  these  positions  has  it  been  assailed 


SOUNDS    AND    LETTERS.  121 

by  the  septic  process  of  our  modem  tongues :  inasmuch  as  the 
Fr.  and  Portug.  make  it  to.be  equal  to  the  hard  s,  by  marking  it 
with  the  cedille  or  inverted  small  c,  thus  in  garqon^  boy :  Portug. 
justiga^  justice.  In  Ital.  it  sinks  down  to  a  mere  t  when  it  precedes 
another  c-  before  e,  i,  f.  i.,  caccia,  pron.  catts'ya^  chase.  Before  the 
soft  (light,  high)  vowels  c,  i  (and  y  in  G.,  Engl.,  Fr.),  the  c  has  be- 
come =5,  in  Engl,  Fr.,  Portug.  ;  =  a  very  lisping  sound  of  /Ae,  almost 
0,  in  Span.;  =  ^.9  in  G.,  f.  i.,  Cicero,  pr.  Ts\ts(ixo\  =  ts'  (Engl,  tch  in 
stitch)  in  Itahan  (see  p.  TO).  The  G  is  a  feliow-suiferer  of  the  preced- 
ing ;  it  sinks  into  Ital.  down  to  a  mere  c?,  when  it  precedes  another  ^- 
before  e,  %  f.  i.,  ra^gio^  pron.  raddz^yo^  ray.  Before  e,  i  (y)  it  is =2' 
(Engl,  in  02ier)  y  in  Fr.  ;  =  x  (^^^'"^*  ^^)  ^^  Span.  ;  =  0^2' in  Engl., 
Ital,  Portug.  But  it  remains  unaltered  in  Lat.,  Germ.,  Anglo-Saxon, 
(i.  e.,  in  all  genuine  Engl,  words;  see  p.  41),. and  it  is  merely  abused 
in  the  Berlin-jargon,  where  it  sounds  like  in  Bohemian,  i.  e.=y  Eng, 
in  yes,  f.  i.,  Mne  gute  gehratene  Gans  ist  elne  gute  Gabe  Gottes^  which 
being  translated  literally  and  sounded  as  in  the  mouth  of  the  people 
of  Berlin,  would  be  :  "A  yood  (ye)  roasted*  yoose  is  a  yood  yift  of 
Yodr  The  cases  of  corruption  in  C  and  G  run  parallel,  as  to  the 
position  in  which  they  occur,  but  not  quite  so,  as  to  the  sounds :  be- 
cause the  former  becomes  not  every  where  compound  in  soun(^,  where 
the  latter  does.  The  sound  of  the  Greek  X,  x  occui-s  in  Latin,  but  in 
Greek  words  written  ch  ;  in  German  also  written  ch  ;  whereas  it  is  rep- 
resented in  Span,  by  g  before  ^,  i,  (y),  by  j  before  all  vowels,  and  by  x 
in  many  words,  accoixling  to  the  old  orthogi-aphy :  so  that  Mexico, 
Mejico,  Megico,  sound  alike  (though  the  real  Mexican  sound  was 
rather  an  approach  to  the  Fr.  ch  in  cAer,  dear).  This  deep  h  occurs 
in  none  of  the  other  languages  before  us.  H  has  probably  sounded 
like  the  Germ,  and  Engl.,  Aut,  Aat;  Aaupt,Aead;  Airt,  Aerd,  etc., 
somewhat  less  harsh  and  deep,  than  the  x-  I^  ^s  always  mute,  unless 
preceded  by  c,  <;,  in  the  same  syllable,  in  Fr.,  Span.,  Portug.,  Ital.  (oc- 
cun-ing  in  this  only  in  the  4  forms  of  the  verb  avere,  i.  e.,  Ao,  Aai,  Aa, 
Aanno  ;  I  have,  thou  hast,  he  has,  they  have ;  but  altogether  mute). 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  tergiversation  in  the  French  grammars  on 
the  pronunciation  of  this  letter ;  owing  to  the  injudicious  denomina- 

*  Ye  as  in  yesterday,  G.  orgstem,  L.  Arsterno  die ;  comp.  yclept,  yclad. 
etc.,  with  G.  ^c-schallet,  Eng.  ye-called,  G.  ^e-kleidet,  y<7-clothed ;  etc. 


122  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

tions  of  H  aspire  and  muet  If  these  names  mean  aught,  they 
should  mean  that  the  former  is  to  be  heard,  as  in  the  Engl.  Aand ;  yet 
such  is  not  the  case,  as  the  whole  so  called  aspiration  amounts  to  a 
mere  etymologic  or  rather  literal  affinity  and  to  a  grammatic  expedi- 
ent (which  might  be  called  mpedient,  as  in  many  other  cases  within 
the  anarchic  realms  of  grammar).  The  h  is  never  heard,  nor  can  a 
Frenchman  utter  it.  The  so  called  aspire  occurs  in  words  of  Teutic 
or  Greek  origin ;  whereas  the  so  called  muet  is  found  in  words  of 
Latin  fabric.  Words  beginning  with  an  aspire  are  treated  in  gram- 
mar, as  if  they  began  with  a  consonant,  f.  i.,  le  heros,  les  heros,  pron. 
Id  ero,  le  ero,  and  not  rheros,  les  heros,  Vero^  lezero.  This  letter  is, 
moreover,  used  as  a  phonetic  expedient,  i.  e.,  as  a  means  of  modifying 
the  sounds  given  to  other  lettei's.  Thus  in  modern  Germ,  h  is 
merely  a  sign  of  length,  when  written  after  a  vowel  or  after  a  t-  in 
the  same  syllable,  f.  i.,  mahnen,  L.  mo^ere,  old  G.  mdnQu  ;  dehnen, 
L,  ^mdere.  Old  Germ,  denen ;  That,  deed,  O.  G.  tat,  etc.  In  this 
menial  capacity,  it  is  a  fellow-servant  of  the  e,  which  is  employed  for 
the  lengthening  of  ^,  when  put  after  it,  f.  i.,  lieben,  to  love ;  die  Miene, 
Fr.  la  mine,  the  mien,  look.  In  Engl,  after  g  in  gherkm,  to  prevent 
the  sound  dz*  (as  in  jerking),  in  ghess  instead  of  guess  (wherein  the 
u  is  a4so  a  sound-keeper),  etc.,  but  quite  uselessly  in  ^Aastly,  ghost^ 
etc.  (where  there  is  no  sound  to  be  kept  against  destruction ;  as  the 
rottenness  of  g  before  a,  o,  u  has  not  yet  commenced !).  It  is  so 
used  in  Italian,  to  preserve  both  C  and  G  against  decomposition,  f.  i., 
^/iirlanda ;  la^Ai,  lakes ;  luogAi,  places ;  ^Aiaccia  (pron.  giatts'ya),  ice, 
from  L.  glacies ;  chiave  from  L.  clavis,  key ;  manchi,  thou  failest, 
wantest,  etc. 

The  dental  sounds  have, — if  we  might  be  permitted  to  make  a 
jest, — eaten  up,  bitten,  smashed,  chewed  up  many  of  the  poor  guttur- 
als. There  is  no  wonder  in  this.  Our  civilization  cares  more  for 
teeth,  externalities  and  things  going  downwards,  below  the  gutter  into 
its  homonymous  channel,  than  for  the  internal  and  brainwards  going 
and  thence  coming  realities,  which,  for  not  being  tangible  or  ponder- 
able, are  despised  as,  "  not  practical P  T,  D  agree  in  these  languages, 
provided  they  be  sounded ;  yet  d  sounds  t,  in  Fr.,  when  joined  with 
the  following  word,  f.  i.,  quanc/  il  a,  pronounce  :  ka'  t  i  la.  We  can- 
not give  all  peculiarities  and  exceptions ;  this  book  not  being  a  trea- 
tise on  any  specific  language.     The  Anglo-Saxon  }>,  b,  or  Engl.  tK\\\ 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  123 

7as,  do  not  occur  in  the  other  languages  now  under  consideration ;  if 
we  except  Greek  words  found  in  Lat.  and  written  th^  as  ^^ermae,  the- 
atrum,  ^Aronus,  where,  however,  the  Romans  did  not  aspirate.  S  sounds 
always  hard  in  Lat.  and  Span.,  f.  i.,  cau^a,  as  if  it  were  written  (as  it 
is  really  found  in  some  editions  of  Lat.  authors)  caus^a :  for  which 
reason  the  Span,  do  not  double  the  s,  f.  i.,  la  corni«ion,  occasion,  etc. 
In  G.,  Engl.,  Fr.,  Ital.,  Portug.  it  sounds  like  the  Engl,  z,  between 
vowels,  and  in  Germ,  even  at  the  beginning  of  words,  f.  i.,  We^en, 
being ;  U5e,  use,  uso,  u5o,  sound  as  if  they  were  written :  vezen,  yu2, 
iiz,  uzo ;  and  Germ.  5onne,  richer,  sun,  secure,  as  if  written  2onne, 
zixer.  Z  sounds  as  if  it  were  dz,  in  Latin  words  derived  from  Greek, 
f.  i.,  zona,  zelus.  In  Engl.,  Fr.,  Portug.,  ==z  as  in  Engl,  zeal,  Fr.  zele, 
Portug.  zelo.  In  Span,  as  the  c  before  e,  ?',  with  which  it  alternates 
in  Grammar,  thus :  luz,  light;  vez,  time,  stead;  plural  luces,  veces 
(just  as  the  j  alternates  with  ff  before  e,  i,  f.  i.,  do^ar,  de^en,  to  leave, 
give  up,  allow,  and  let  them  leave,  etc.).  In  Ital.  almost,  Germ,  quite 
:=ts,  f.  i.,  G. zimmer,  timber;  zu,  to;  zoU,  toll,  etc.,  so  that  G.  z  cor- 
responds, as  to  origin,  with  Engl.  t. 

The  sounds  which  the  author  represents  by  5'  and  Z'  (Engl,  shun 
and  glazier)  are  written  in  the  following  manner  in  the  languages  be- 
fore us.  In  Latin  such  sounds  never  did  exist !  In  Fr.  and  Portug., 
5'  is  represented  by  c/i,  f.  i.,  cAarmant  cAapeo ;  in  G.  by  sch,  f.  i., 
sc/iande,  sAame  ;  in  Ital.  by  sc  before  e,  %  f.  i.,  5cena,  scene ;  5cio- 
gliere,  to  loosen,  dissolve,  untie ;  are  pron.  s/iena,  ^Aolyere.  There  is  no 
such  sound  in  the  Span,  language.  As  for  the  z\  this  is  represented 
by  j  in  Fr.  before  all  vowels,  by  g  before  e,  i  ;  and  it  does  not  exist 
in  G.,  Ital.,  Span.,  Portug. ;  so  that  some  Germans,  instead  of  pro- 
nouncing the  Fr.  ^enie,  z'eni,  genius,  say  chem  (written  chenil),  thus 
making  fennel  (from  L.  carz^is,  Fr.  chien)  out  of  genius.  The  Ger- 
mans are  very  hard-mouthed  in  some  sounds. 

We  conclude  this  concordance  (rather  discordance)  with  the  com- 
pound sounds  ts*  and  dz''  (Engl,  in  chewy,  generous).  They  do  not 
exist  in  Lat.  and  Fr.  The  former  is  thus  written  :  ch  in  Engl,  and 
Span,  (though  in  Engl,  also  tch,  f.  i.,  in  pi^cA) ;  tsch  in  Germ.,  f.  i., , 
que^scAen,  to  squeeze ;  c  before  e,  i  in  Ital.  The  dz"*  does  not  exist 
in  Germ.,  Span. ;  it  is  written  g  before  e,  i  in  Eng.,  Ital.  and  Portug. 

The  compound  liquid  sounds  (mouilles)  have  been  treated  of  al- 
ready on  p.  103. 


124  SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS. 

If  we  now  compare  all  these  sbiftings,  and  if  we  inquire  into  the 
causes  and  reasons  of  the  inconsistency  that  pervades  all  the  methods 
of  wi-iting  of  the  modern  nations  of  western  Europe,  which  employ 
the  Roman  alphabet ;  we  cannot  help  becoming  deeply  afflicted  by 
the  conviction,  that  they  are  in  a  deeper  state  of  barbarism,  in  respect 
to  language,  than  nations  of  other  countries  and  times,  short  of  sav- 
ages or  nomadic  tribes.  Is  this  sad  condition  of  nations  inhabiting 
the  finest  part  of  the  globe,  and  which  have  inherited  all  sciences, 
and  arts,  all  social,  politic  and  religious  institutions  from  nations  highly 
cultivated  in  those  respects, — owing  to  mental  causes,  i.  e.,  to  a  defi- 
ciency of  intellectual  faculties,  or  to  moral  laxity,  i.  e.,  to  a  want  of 
energy  in  doing  what  is  right,  or  to  an  absence  of  aesthetic  sense,  i.e., 
to  a  dullness  of  the  perception  of  what  is  beautiful ;  or  is  it  to  be 
asci'ibed  to  a  combination  of  all  three  negations  of  straightness  in 
those  three  sides  of  the  triad,  which  constitutes  the  genius  of  human- 
ity ?  However  this  may  be,  or  however  it  may  be  felt  or  decided  by 
any  one  who  may  deem  it  wortliy  of  consideration  in  an  age,  where 
machines  are  expected  to  think  for  men  : — certain  it  is,  that  it  contra- 
dicts all  the  boasts  about  the  immense,  incomparable,  unpronouncea- 
ble, unprintable  progress,  civilization,  enlightenment,  intelligence,  of 
our  age,  and  about  all  the  half-yard -long  epitheticized  eupheraistico- 
magniloquentisms  of  the  press,  of  the  newsmongei's,  gossipwrights, 
and  of  othei*s  of  the  same  kin  and  kidney,  in  the  academic  chair,  and 
among  the  disseminfators  of  useful  knowledge,  ex  officio. 

We  do  not  know  yet  our  (as  it  is  said,  although  it  be  not  our) 
ay-hee-see !  Why  do  we  progress,  nevertheless,  in  natural  sciences 
and  in  all  things  connected  with  them  ?  Because  we  there  follow 
more  reasonably  and  courageously,  than  our  ancestoi-s  have  done,  the 
laws  of  nature ;  while  the  guardians  of  the  higher  blessings  of  man- 
kind fail  in  their  duties.  Burns  felt  this  shortcoming,  and  expressed 
it  in  the  following  vei*ses : 

"  In  days  when  mankind  were  but  callans, 
At  grammar,  logic,  and  sic  talents, 
They  took  nae  pains  their  speech  to  balance, 

Or  rules  to  gie. 
But  spak  their  thought  in  plain,  braid  lallans 
Like  you  or  me." 

Yes !  the  masses  of  the  people  have  preserved  to  us,  not  only  the 


SOUNDS  AND  LETTERS.  125 

stature,  health  and  strength  of  the  body,  the  virtues  of  the  mind 
(what  the  Germans  call  Gemuth^  mood,  moral  disposition),  but  also 
the  genuine  principles  of  language.  And  as  we  rise  higher,  from 
single  tribes  to  nations,  from  these  to  stocks  of  nations,  and  so  on,  we 
find  purer,  clearer,  and  wider  views  of  this  noblest  gift  of  reasonable 
man.  What  is  called  Grammar^  scholarship^  and  the  like  high- 
sounding  terminology,  is  mostly  used  to  cover  the  absence  of  clear 
ideas  with.   Goethe  says : 

*'  Denn  eben  wo  Begriffe  fehlen, 
Da  stellt  ein  Wort  zur  rechten  Zeit  sich  ein. 
Mit  Worten  lasst  sich  trefflich  streiten, 
Mit  Worten  ein  System  bereiten, 
An  Worte  lasst  sich  trefflich  glauben, 
Von  einem  Wort  lasst  sich  kein  Iota  rauben."* 

Such  is  the  power  of  words,  that  it  may  almost  be  asserted  that  words 
govern  men,  just  in  the  ratio  of  their  obscurity.  Take,  f.  i.,  the  fol- 
lowing sentence  in  two  sets  of  words,  and  inquire  which  of  them  will 
produce  little  impression,  and  which  will  bend  the  knees  of  the  multi- 
tude to  worship : 

A  chief  sits  on  a  chair,  among  old  men,  overseers,  and  leeches,  with  a 
wreath  on  his  head,  a  staff  in  his  hand,  reading  the  explanations  of  etc. 

A  king  (or  emperor,  sultan,  shah,  khan)  sits  on  a  throne,  among  patri- 
archs, bishops,  and  doctors,  with  a  crown  on  his  head,  a  sceptre  in  his  hand, 
reading  the  exegesis  of,  etc. 

Greek,  or  any  other  foreign  words  benumb  the  mind,  and  leave 
room  for  vague  notions.  These  again,  as  bordeiing  on  the  region  of 
the  poetic,  easily  insinuate  themselves  into  being  believed.  Belief  at 
last  usurps  the  j)lace  of  conviction. 

*  "  For  just  where  conceptions  fail.  A  word  comes  in  at  the  right  time. 
With  words  we  can  glibly  fence,  With  words  a  system  prepare,  In  words 
we  can  eas'ly  trust,  From  a  word  no  iota  can  be  robbed." 


CHAPTER    IV. 

GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

"  Naturae  vero  rerum  vis  atque  maiestas  in  omnibus  momentis  fide  caret,  si  quis  modo 
partes  eius  ac  non  totam  complectatur  animo,"— Plin.  Hist.  Nat.  1.  VH.,  c.  1. 

"  L'dtude  des  langues  n'appanient  pas  uniquement  k  la  n)emoire  ;  le  jueement  doit  y 
intervenir  pour  beaucoup  ;  et  plus  on  parvient  k  appliquer  le  raisonnement  et  I'inielligence 
k  cette  6iude,  plus  on  I'abrege  et  on  la  rend  facile  et  accessible  aux  bons  eprits."— Silv.  db 
Sacy,  Prif.  Gram.  Arab. 

Plato  and  other  philosophers  of  antiquity  were  peculiarly  disqualified 
for  an  adequate  view  of  the  nature  of  language,  in  relation  to  its  stand- 
ing to  the  mind,  to  the  external,  material  nature,  and  as  regards  the 
affinities  of  its  several  branches.  The  last  named  circumstance  was 
the  greatest  impediment ;  owing  to  the  patriotic  narrowness  which 
was  cultivated  as  a  virtue,  but  which  was  but  a  feature  of  misanthro- 
py, namely,  to  look  with  contempt  upon  all  other  nations,  upon  their 
languages,  institutions,  etc.  Foreign,  rude,  ignorant,  unintelligible, 
barbarian  were  synonymous  terms.  Yet  it  is  remarkable  how  near 
the  Platonic  Socrates  came  to  the  true  idea  of  language.  Some 
great  principles  of  glossology  are  distinctly  recognized  in  the  Cratylus 
of  Plato.  This  is  a  disputation  between  Socrates,  Cratylus,  and  Her- 
mogenes,  on  the  propriety  of  names.  As  this  is  the  most  imjx>rtant 
work  of  antiquity  on  our  subject,  an  epitome  of  it  may  not  prove  un- 
acceptable to  the  reader,  by  way  of  preface  to  the  matter  of  this 
chapter. 

Cratylus  pretends  that  for  each  thing  there  is  a  rtxime^  which  be- 
longs to  it  hy  nature  and  not  by  an  arbitrary  convention  of  men ;  he 
asserts  that  there  is  a  natural  propriety  in  Greek,  as  well  as  in  barba- 
rian words. 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  12 Y 

Socrates  quotes  the  proverb  that  ^^  fine  things  are  difficult  to  he 
learnt^''  and  says  that  the  study  of  names  is  not  a  trifle. 

Cratylus  jests  at  the  name  of  Hermogenes^  as  untrue ;  for  it  signi- 
jBes  Gainhorn,  although  he  be  poor. 

Hermogenes  maintains  that  the  names  originate  from  an  agree- 
ment among  men,  and  he  denies  their  naturalness. 

(Having  introduced  the  interlocutoi-s,  we  shall  indicate  their  names 
by  the  initial  letter  of  each ;  although  many  questions  and  answers 
are  here  contracted  into  groups  of  arguments.) 

>S'. — If  a  speech  be  either  true  or  false,  if  it  be  possible  to  express 
that  what  is,  and  that  what  is  not  ;^  if  a  speech  be  true  or  false  in  its 
whole,  it  must  also  be  true  or  false  in  its  paiis ;  consequently,  every 
word  of  it  must  be  true  or  false,  according  as  the  speech  is.  A  thing 
will,  therefore,  have  as  many  names  as  any  body  may  choose  to  give  it, 
and  only  for  the  time  being. 

H. — I  can  name  things  at  my  pleasure ;  why  should  the  names 
of  the  same  objects  be  different  among  Greeks  and  among  barbarians  ? 

S. — Have  things  only  an  existence,  which  is  relative  to  the  per- 
son who  considers  them,  according  to  Protagoras  who  says  that  man 
is  the  measure  of  all  things :  so  that  the  objects  be  only  what  they 
appear  to  be  to  each  man  ?  Have  they  no  certain,  fixed  and  perma- 
nent reality  within  themselves  ? 

(Hermogenes  yields  his  former  opinion  to  the  arguments  of  So- 
crates, who  proceeds.) 

S. — If  all  men  who  are  quite  good,  be  quite  reasonable,  and  if 
those  who  are  altogether  bad  be  unreasonable  altogether :  how  can 
Protagoras  be  right  in  saying  that  things  are  only  what  they  appear 
to  be  to  each  man  ?  Nor  can  you  maintain  with  Euthy demos  (a 
sophist),  that  all  things  are  for  ever  the  same.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  the  things  have  within  themselves  a  constant  reality ;  that  they 
are  neither  relative  to  us  nor  dependent  on  us,  and  that  they  cannot 
comply  with  our  manner  of  seeing  them :  but  that  they  subsist  by 
themselves,  according  to  their  essence  and  natural  constitution.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  actions  of  beings,  which  are  also  a  kind  of  beings. 


*  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  subtlety  of  Protagoras  and  of  other  sophists, 
who  maiutained  that  it  was  impossible  to  say,  as  it  is  impossible  to  do,  what 
is  not. 


128  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

Now,  as  speaking  is  an  action  of  man,  we  cannot  speak  by  merely 
following  our  own  opinion,  if  we  wish  to  speak  well.  We  must  speak 
so  as  the  nature  of  things  ordei-s  us  to  speak ;  we  must  speak  in  keep- 
ing with  the  nature  of  things.  But  naming  is  a  part  of  the  action  of 
speaking.  The  name  is  an  instrument  of  instruction,  serving  to  unravel 
things.  An  instrument  must  be  apt  to  do  what  it  has  to  do ;  it  must 
also  be  well  used,  if  we  wish  to  do  a  thing  well.  Names  or  words 
have  been  framed  by  a  skilful  man,  by  a  genuine  artisan  of  names. 
This  artist,  or  legislator  is  the  most  rare  of  all  the  artists  among  men, 

S. — Name-making  must  be  based  on  and  regulated  by,  the  na- 
ture of  the  things  to  be  named.  The  name-legislator  must  fashion 
names  in  keeping  with  the  idea  it  has  to  indicate,  by  selecting  proper 
sounds  and  syllables.  And,  though  not  all  name-makers  do  comprise 
the  same  name  within  the  same  syllables ;  as  all  smiths  do  not  use 
the  same  iron  for  the  same  tool ;  as  long  as  the  tool  will  be  made  on 
the  same  model,  it  will  be  serviceable.  The  names  must  be  service- 
able to  the  Dialecticians  who  use  them,  and  who  are*  to  judge  of  their 
fitness. 

(All  this  has  been  elicited  by  many  questions  of  Socrates,  to 
which  Hermogenes  replied  affirmatively.) 

S. — Cratylus  is,  therefore,  right  in  saying  that  names  are  in  keep- 
ing with  the  nature  of  things,  and  that  not  every  man  can  be  a  word- 
wright,  but  only  he  who  consider  that  a  name  should  fit  each  thing 
and  who  is  able  to  realize  this  in  applying  the  letters  and  syllables, 

H. — I  see  naught  that  I  could  oppose  to  what  thou  say  est,  O 
Socrates !  But  it  is,  nevertheless,  not  easy  to  surrender  at  once.  I 
think  that  I  could  be  best  convinced,  if  thou  wert  to  show  me  in  what 
this  propriety  of  names,  which  thou  maintainest  to  be  founded  in  na- 
ture, consists. 

S. — I  did  not  say  that  I  knew  aught  about  the  matter;  but  I 
shall  willingly  examine  into  the  subject  with  thee. 

(After  some  alhisions  to  the  sophists  who  charge  great  prices  for 
teaching,  Socrates  proceeds  in  teaching  by  questions.) 

S. — Homer  furnishes  excellent  materials  for  our  purpose,  espe- 
cially where  he  distinguishes,  for  one  and  the  same  thing,  the  name 
which  men  use  for  it,  from  that  which  the  gods  employ.     Gods  ought 
U give  just  names  to  things. 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  129 

Thus  Iliad  XX.  verse  74 : 

"''Ov  EaV-^ov  KokiovcTL  ^€o\  avSpeq  SI  ^/ca/xavSpov." 
II.  XIV.  V.  291  :   "XaXKtSa  KiKXrjcFKOvai  Seoi,  avSp€s  Se  Kv/Atv8ti/." 
II.  II.  VS.  813,  14:  "T^v  ^rot  avSpes  Bartetav  KiKArycrKovcrtv, 

A^avarot  Sc  t€  o^jxa  irokvcTKap^ixoio  Mvptw?;?."* 

(and  II.  I.  403,  4,  the  Briareon  of  the  gods  is  the  Aigaion  of  men. 
VI.  401-3  :  "  The  only  star-like  son  of  Hector  was  called  Scamand- 
rios  by  his  father,  Astyanax  by  others :  for  Hector  alone  protected 
Ihon."  Comp.  Odyss.  X.  verse  305.  The  more  ancient,  uncommon 
names  are  attributed  to  Gods :  the  real  difference  being  but  dialectic.) 

II.  XXII.  506,  7 :  "  Acrrvavaf,  ov  Tpcue?  e-TriKXrjo-LV  KaXeovcnv 

Olos  yap  (Tcf>Lv  epvao  TrvXas  kol  rct^ea  ^aKpa."! 

Socrates  further  says  that  Homer  thought  the  men  of  Troy  ta 
have  been  wiser  than  their  wives,  and  that,  therefore  Astyanax  was 
a  name  more  fit,  meaning  the  son  of  the  saviour  of  the  city;  since 
Hector  resembles  veiy  much  Astyanax,  both  being  names  of  kings, 
as  aj^af  means  chief,  cKTcop  master^  fiom  €;(€i,  has,  can  (so  that  Asty- 
anax =  city-chief).  Provided  the  name  agree  with  the  essence  of  the 
thing,  it  is  of  less  importance  whether  the  former  consist  of  this  or 
of  that  assemblage  of  syllables.  As  regards  the  names  of  letters, 
if  the  principal  be  predominant  in  them,  they  are  just  (Comp.  p.  60, 
61):  were  this  otherwise,  there  would  be  monstrosity.  Variation 
in  the  syllables  of  names  perplexes  only  the  ignorant.  The  variation 
of  colore  does  not  alter  a  drug,  if  its  virtue  remain  unaltered.  Thus 
Astyanax,  Hector,  Archepohs,  etc.,  are  names  of  kings,  etc. 

(After  having  tried  to  explain  many  proper  names,  f.  i.,  Orestes, 
from  fierce,  Agamemnon  from  admirable  and  persevering ;  Aireus, 
from  outraging  by  virtue,  or  audacious,  inhuman ;  Felops  fjom  not 
seeing  afar ;  Tantalus  from  many  misfortunes,  etc.,  and  adding  that 
the  accidents  of  tradition  may  have  disguised  names ; — he  tells  us 
that  Zei;?   is  equivalent  to  a  whole  sentence,  being  composed  of  Zrjva, 

*  "  Which  the  gods  call  Xanthos,  but  men  Scamandros." 
"  Chalcis  call  (it)  the  gods,  but  men  Cymindis." 
"Which  men  call  Batieia, 

But  the  immortals  the  tomb  of  swiftest  Myrinne." 
t  "  Astyanax,  whom  the  Troians  with  a  surname  call ; 

For  thou  alone  didst  defend  their  gates  and  high  walls/' 


130  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

Ata,  which  on  being  united,  expl-ess  the  nature  of  God :  for  Zqjv 
means  to  live,  and  8t*  ov,  by  which  =  the  thing  by  which  we  live, 
Urania^  contemplation  of  things  from  above,  hence  pure  intelligence. 
Then  he  speaks  of  the  genealogies  of  Hesiod  and  proceeds  as  follows.) 

S, — Can  the  names  bear  witness,  by  themselves,  that  they  are 
not  altogether  a  work  of  accident  ?  The  names  of  men  and  demi- 
gods could  mislead  us ;  for  many  are  merely  hereditary  and  do  not 
fit  those  to  whom  they  are  now  given.  Many  hav.e  been  given  in  the 
form  of  a  vow,  as  Euty chides^  Sosias,  Theophilos,  good-lucky,  saved, 
god-loving.  The  names  that  are  truly  proper,  have  reference  to  ever- 
lasting things,  to  nature.  Thus  0€ot,  gods,  from  ^ctv,  to  run  ;  as  the 
ancient  Greeks,  in  common  with  many  barbarians,  woi-shipped  the  sun, 
moon,  stars,  etc.,  which  are  ever  moving.*  "  Since  the  Fates  have 
hidden  the  race  of  the  men  of  gold  [Hesiod.  Epy.  vs.  120-2),  they 
are  called  Demons^  inhabitants  of  the  subterranean  regions,  benefi- 
cent, tutelaiy,  guardians  of  mortals ;"  wliile  we  are  called  the  race  of 
ir(m.  I  hold  each  good  and  wise  man  to  be  SaTy/xwv,  knowing,  learn- 
ed, taught,  etc.  Heros  is  related  both  to  love  and  to  speak ;  so  that 
rhetoricians,  sophists  become  a  heroic  race. 

(As  it  is  not  intended  to  give  all  details  of  this  glossologic  dialogue, 
but  as  there  are  many  interesting  points  contained  in  it,  the  Greek 
words  will  be  given  in  Latin  character,  for  the  sake  of  rendering  the 
subject  more  accessible  to  such  of  the  readei-s,  as  are  unable  to  read 
Greek,  and  also  with  a  view  to  brevity.  It  must  also  be  remarked 
that  Socrates  speaks  of  the  insertion,  retrenchment  and  transposition 
of  letters  and  accents.) 

Socrates  derives  Anthropos^  man,  fi-om  the  sentence  ^^anathrei 
ha  opdpe^he  observes  in  looking;  Psyche,  soul,  from,physin  ochei 
kai  echei==it  conveys  and  keeps  nature;  /Sowa,  body,  from  sema, 
tomb  of  the  soul,  or  sign  of  the  soul  (whereas  the  Orpheans  derive  it 
from  sdzetai==\t  keeps  safe  the  soul.  If  we  studied  foreign  names, 
i.  e.,  such  as  are  found  out  of  Attica,  we  could  also  find  for  each  a 


*  The  attention  of  the  reader  will  be  invited  below  to  a  reconsideration 
of  these  Platonic  attempts  at  wliat  we  now  call  etymologies.  Of  all  names 
of  the  Supreme  Being,  the  Teutic  Gotl  or  god,  is  certainly  the  best;  being 
of  the  same  germ  with  to  get,  got,  good,  Lat.,  queo,  can,  and  with  our  kcu^ 
knoitJ,  etc.  •  ■        .  .         .  , 


GERMS    AND   ROOTS.  131 

proper  significatioTi.  Jlestia,  Vesta,  belongs  to  ouzia,  esia,  i.  e.,  essence. 
Bhea,  from  running.  Cronos,  or  ckronos  from  k-rounos,  also  running. 
Poseidon  from  foot-hound,  posi'desmos  ;  or  from  polla  eidos,  much- 
knowing ;  or  from  ho  seion,  the  shaker  (of  earth),  with  a  prefixed  p- 
and  d:  Flutdn,  riches  (plenty)-giving;  called  also  JIaides,  the  in- 
visible. Demeter  (Ceres),  i.  e.,  giving  as  a  mother.  Jlera  from  air 
or  from  erate,  lovely.  Many  people  are  afraid  of  Persephatta  and  of 
Apolldn,  because  they  do  not  know  their  real  meaning.  The  former 
is  altered  into  Persephone,  formidable ;  whereas  it  means  wisdom, 
since  Pherepapha  signifies  approaching  the  movable,  etc.  As  re- 
gards the  latter,  there  could  have  been  contrived  no  name  more  be- 
fitting the  four  attributes  of  Phoebus,  i.  e.,  music,  divination,  medicine 
and  archery :  since  Apolou6n  =  off-\2i\'mg\  Apolydn  =  o&-\oosei]\r\g, 
i.  e.,  purifying  from  the  evils  of  the  soul  and  of  the  body.  Haploun 
=  simplifying ;  Aei  ballon,  ever  shooting  (bolts).  It  is  also  akin  to 
^coZow^Ao5  =  together  -|-  path,  following ;  and  to  AJcoitis  or  Homokoi- 
^es=:  together  -f- couch:  meaning  concordance  of  a  revolution  of  the 
heaven  (or  Polesis,  i.  e.,  around  the  poles)  with  harmony  in  song  (for 
the  Pythagoreans  say  that  "  the  revolution  of  the  world  makes  har- 
mony.") ^omo^oZoTi  =  directing  this  double  movement  (of  the 
heavens,  and  of  music). 

(We  cannot  follow  Socrates  through  all  his  disquisitions.  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  Hermogenes  is,  at  last,  brought  to  exclaim,  that  Craty- 
lus  was  right  in  saying  that  he  should  not  be  called  Hermogenes 
(Gainborn).  But  we  must-continue  to  note  the  principal  ideas  of  the 
philosopher.) 

B, — Whenever  I  become  embarrassed  in  these  researches,  I  sup- 
pose that  the  Greeks  under  the  dominion  of  the  Barbarians,  have 
borrowed  many  words  from  them,  which  ought  to  be  explained  from 
their  language.  Thus  hydor,  water ;  kyon,  dog,  etc.  are  found  modi- 
fied in  Phiygian.  It  seems  that  the  men  of  the  most  remote  antiquity, 
who  have  framed  the  words,  must  have  felt  the  same  that  happens  to 
most  of  our  philosophers ;  I  wish  to  say,  that  by  dint  of  turning  in 
all  directions,  while  inquiring  into  the  nature  of  things,,  their  heads 
themselves  were  turned,  and  that  this  giddiness  caused  them  to  see  all 
beings  in  a  perpetual  movement.  But  they  do  not  bethink  themselves 
to  search  in  their  own  interior  disposition  for  their  way  of  seeing  the 
things;  so  that  they  believe,  at  last,  that  the  things  themselves  are 


132  GERMS    AKD    ROOTS. 

turning,  that  they  have  no  fixedness  -whatever.  I  apply  this  remark 
to  the  words  which  denote  movement. 

(It  is  very  properly  remarked  by  Socrates,  that  by  making  all 
sorts  of  alterations  in  words,  at  pleasure,  it  becomes  quite  easy  to 
accommodate  each  name  to  any  thing  we  may  please.  Voltaire 
says  the  same  thing  in  other  words,  '*  la  voyelle  ne  fait  rien,  et  la 
consonne  fort  pen  de  chosey  But  Socrates  adds,  addressing  Hermo- 
genes :  Thou  must  act  as  a  wise  president  and  maintain  a  convenient 
measure,  without  being  too  punctilious  in  order  not  to  unnerve  me ; 
as  I  am  about  to  arrive  at  the  crowning  point  "of  all  that  I  have  said.) 

S. — A  slight  alteration  may  cause  words  to  signify  just  the  con- 
trary to  what  they  were  destined  to  convey.  Our  beautiful  language 
gives  to  the  two  words  deon  and  Zemiddes,  quite  a  contrary  signifi^- 
cation  to  that  of  the  ancient  language.  Our  ancestors  used  very  fre- 
quently i  and  c?,  which  occur  yet  in  the  speech  of  women,  while  we 
now  substitute  e  and  2,  as  they  seem  to  us  to  be  more  genteel. 

S, — When  we  shall  have  arrived,  at  last,  to  those  words  which 
are  as  it  were  the  elements  of  each  sentence,  of  each  word ;  then 
their  legitimity  and  their  natural  propriety  are  to  be  appreciated* 
There  is  for  all  words  but  one  manner  of  being,  which  befits  the 
things.  If  we  were  deprived  of  tongue  and  of  voice,  and  if  we  wish- 
ed to  point  out  things  to  one  another,  would  we  not  endeavor  to  make 
ourselves  understood  in  the  same  way  as  the  dumb  do,  viz.,  by  means 
of  signs  made  with  the  hand,  head,  body  ?  In  order  to  express  a 
thing  which  is  lofty  and  light,  we  would  •  raise  our  hand  ;  in  order  to 
indicate  a  running  hoi'se,  we  would  gesticulate  accordingly. 

S. — As  we  employ  the  voice,  the  lips  and  tongue  for  that  pur- 
pose, we  cannot  attain  it  otherwise  than  by  causing  them  to  imitate 
the  things,  as  it  were.  Imitating  thus  amounts  to  naming  the  objects. 
Yet  w^e  could  not  admit,  that  those  who  mimic  the  bleating  of  sheep, 
the  crowing  of  cocks,  name  thereby  these  animals.  It  is  not  this 
music-like  imitation,  nor  is  it  the  mimicking  of  the  objects  of  musi- 
cal imitation,  that  constitutes  the  name.  For,  all  beings  have  not 
only  a  form,  a  sound,  but  also  other  qualities,  as  color,  etc.  Now,  to 
name  the  beings  does  not  consist  in  the  imitation  of  their  qualities ; 
this  being  rather  done  by  the  art  of  music,  of  painting.  Each  object 
has  an  essence,  besides  those  other  qualities ;  even  these, — color, 
sound, — have  each  its  essence,  as  beings.     Now,  the  counterfeiting  of 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  133 

a  tiling  acquaints  us  with  it.  This  is  done  by  means  of  letters  and 
syllables,  i.  e.,  by  \owols  and  different  consonants.*  We  ought  to 
examine  tho.s(  11:1  m-.  to  which  all  othei-s  are  reducible.  Each  thing 
ought  to  have  a  name  from  a  resemblance,  just  as  things  are  painted 
with  particular  colors.  One  single  letter,  or  one  syllable,  or  a  group 
of  syllables,  forms  a  name.  All  this  has  been  handed  down  to  us 
from  remote  time  ;  so  that  we  have  but  to  examine  whether  the 
names  befit  the  objects. 

(There  is  some  obscurity  in  the  following  passage,  wherein  the 
name  of  to.  ovra,  beings,  is  taken  for  that  of  to.  6vo)w,aTa,  names.) 

S. — We  cannot  say  any  thing  better  on  the  truth  of  primitive 
words  J  than  what  has  been  remarked  on  the  lettei-s ;  unless  we  recur 
to  the  trick  of  tragedians  who  bring  the  gods  by  machines,  to  help 
them,  when  they  are  embarrassed.  Some  say  that  the  gods  have  in- 
stituted the  first  names.  Or  we  might  suppose  that  we  got  them 
from  the  Barbarians ;  or,  that  antiquity  hides  them  from  our  research- 
es, as  it  does  those  of  the  Barbarians.  These  would  be  excuses  be- 
coming such  men,  as  do  not  wish  to  give  a  reason  for  the  propriety 
of  the  primitive  words.  Before  knowing  this,  however,  naught  can  be 
known  about  derivations. 

S. — My  ideas  on  the  primitives  seem  to  me  to  be  quaint  and 
presumptuous.  I  see  in  P  (our  R)  an  instrument  fit  to  express  all 
kinds  of  movement,  and  rushing.  K  comes  from  Kteev,  a  strange 
word,  meaning  to  go ;  but  we  do  not  know  the  true  ancient  word 
(com p.  G.  ge-hen),  "^rdcns  denies  movement.  R  denotes  movement 
on  account  of  the  mobility  of  the  letters :  the  tongue  vibrating  in 
uttering  it  rapidly. 

{S.  gives  many  examples  of  words  containing  p  in  or  near  their 
beginning.     We  shall  see  this  view  carried  out  in  the  sequel.) 

S. — I  denotes  eveiy  thing  that  is  fine,  slender,  piercing.  The 
whistling  sounds  ^,  %  2,  and  Z  denote  blowing.     The  pressure  of 


*  The  substitution  of  letters  for  sounds  is  observable  in  the  writing  of  the 
ancients  It  amounts  to  saying  that  we  hear  with  our  eyes.  If  this  were 
80  and  if  sounds  were  used  instead  of  letters,  when  the  latter  arelmeant,  we 
could  also  say  that  we  see  with  our  ears.  Ytt  we  do  not  find  tfie  name  of 
sound  used  for  that  of  letters.  Why  1  Because  the  ancients  did  not  hap- 
pen to  commit  the  inaccuracy  in  this  direction.  We  have  faithfully  copied 
*3eir  mistakes  and  added  new  ones. 


134  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

the  tongue,  in  producing  A,  T,  marks  stoppage,  binding.  With  A 
the  tongue  glides.  T  stops  the  movement  of  the  tongue,  and  with  \ 
it  imitates  ghiish,  sweet  things.  A  in  /xcyas,  great;  H  in  /x^kos, 
length  ;  O  in  o-rpoyyuAos,  round ;  are  fit.  Every  where  the  wordwright 
has  accommodated  the  letters  to  the  nature  of  the  things. 

(Ciatylus  had  been  all  the  while  listening  to  the  questions  of  So- 
crates and  to  the  short  replies  of  Hermogenes,  who  now  appeals  to 
Cratylus  for  his  opinion  on  the  subject.) 

-S". — Cratylus  has  very  often  plagued  me  with  the  assurance  that 
the  names  have  a  natural  propriety,  without  explaining  in  what  this 
consists. 

C. — Does  it  seem  to  thee  to  be  easy  to  learn  or  to  teach  so  fast 
any  thing  whatever,  and,  above  all,  a  thing  which  appears  to  be  of  the 
greatest  difficulty  ? 

IT. — I  like  the  saying  of  Hesiod  (E/oy.  v.  359),  "/^  is  always 
worth  while  to  add  little  to  littleP     Do  not  refuse  to  speak. 

(Compare  p.  12. — The  dialogue  continues  hence  to  its  very  end 
between  Socrates  and  Cratylus.  But  only  the  principal  points  of  it 
will  be  given,  as  hitherto,  i.  e.,  without  entering  into  all  single  ques- 
tions and  answers). 

S. — I  do  not  pretend  to  wan'ant  any  thing  of  all  I  have  said.  I 
did  but  consider  with  Hermogenes  things  that  occurred  at  random. 
Hast  thou  any  thing  more  satisfactoiy  ?  Tell  it  to  me,  as  to  a  man  who 
is  disposed  to  receive^  thy  ideas.  Thou  wilt  be  more  successful  than 
myself;  for  thou  seemest  to  me  to  have  studied  all  this,  both  by  thy- 
self and  by  the  teaching  of  others.     I  shall  be  thy  pupil. 

C. — I  am  much  afraid  just  of  the  contraiy  to  what  you  said,  and 
I  might  reply,  as  Achilles  did  to  Aiax : 

"Havra  rt  /xot  Kara  &vfJiov  ieLcrao  /xr^^cracr^at." 

Iliad  IX.,  verse  641.* 

Thou  speakest  hke  an  oracle,  and  hast  been  either  inspired  by 
Eutyphr6n  or  by  a  Muse  dwelling  within  thee,  without  thy  being 
aware  of  it. 

aS'. — I  am  astonished  at  my  knowledge,  and  mistrustful  of  it,  so 
that  I  am  inclined  to  re-examine  all  I  have  said :  for  there  is  no  worse 


*  <'  sJooronqf  to  have  spoken  all  out  of  mv  soul.' 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  136 

error  than  that  into  tvhich  we  lead  us  ourselves.  We  ought  "  to  look 
both  forwards  and  backwards  (II.  I.,  v.  343) "  and  not  to  be  fickle  as 
youth,  but  cautious  as  old  age,  "  at  once  looking  to  the  past  and  the 
future ;  in  order  to  satisfy  both  sides  in  the  best  manner  (II.  III.,  v. 
108-110)."  Words  are  made  to  be  tokens.  Do  some  legislators* 
perform  their  work  better  than  others  ? 

C, — I  do  not  think  so. 

S, — What  ?  Are  not  some  names  more  coiTect  than  others  ? 

C.—Noi  at  all. 

S. — ^Therefore  all  are  correct  (right,  just)  alike  ? 

C. — Yes ;  all  those,  at  least,  that  are  names. 

S, — How  ?  Is  not  the  name  of  our  friend,  Hermogenes  ?  Does 
he  not  belong  to  the  race  of  Hermes  ?     Is  that  not  his  true  name  ? 

C. — I  do  not  believe  that  it  belongs  to  him  in  reality.  It  seems 
only  to  belong  to  him ;  while  it  belongs  rather  to  some  other  individ- 
ual whose  nature  agrees  with  it. 

S. — Is  it  not  false  to  say  that  our  friend  is  Hermogenes  ?  Un- 
less it  be  perhaps  impossible  to  say  that  he  is  Hermogenes,  if  he  is 
not. 

C, — What  do  you  mean  ? 

S. — Is  it,  perchance,  your  opinion,  that  it  is  never  possible  to  say 
what  is  false  ?     This  opinion  has  found  many  followers. 

C — When  I  say  what  I  say,  can  I  say  what  is  not  ?  Does  saying 
what  is  false  not  amount  to  saying  what  is  not  ? 

S. — This  Reasoning  is  too  refined  for  me  and  for  my  age.  Is  it 
impossible  to  say  what  is  false  ?  is  it  not  possible  to  speak  falsely  ? 

C, — I  do  not  even  admit  that  one  could  speak  falsely. 

aS^. — Nor  express  one's  self,  nor  address  (speak  to)  any  body  falsely 
(i.  e.,  mistaking  him  for  somebody  else)  ?  If  some  one,  taking  you 
by  the  hand,  should  say  to  you,  "  Hail,  Athenian  stranger,  Hermo- 
genes !"  would  you  call  his  so  doing,  to  speak,  to  say,  to  express  him- 
self, or  to  address,  not  thee,  but  Hermogenes,  or  nobody  ? 


*  No^o^eVr/j,  legislator,  law-putter,  lawbrlDger,  lawwright ;  from  vSnos^ 
law,  right,  institute,  doctrine,  mode.  Comparing  this  word  with  vo^ihs,  pas- 
ture, feed,  region,  ward,  etc.,  with  ovo^ia,  name,  noun,  word,  etc. ;  and  with 
yivdxTKu),  I  know,  L.  co-gnosco  ;  yvcoplCoo,  E.  G.  keii,  cun-mng,  kun-st,  etc., 
we  are  led  to  the  root  gii  or  kn,  Sanscrit  dz^na,  Slavic  ^?ttj,  L.  si-^?ium,  etc. 
So  that  law  and  name,  sign,  etc.,  hail  from  one  germ. 


136  GERMS    AND   ROOTS, 

C. — I  should  find  therein  but  empty  sounds. 

aS. — I  do  not  want  more.  Would  the  man,  uttering  those  sounds, 
Zz>,  or  would  he  speak  the  trui\  or  only  a^ar^  of  truth '^ 

C, — I  should  say  that  that  man  made  but  noise,  that  he  shook 
the  air  uselessly. 

S. — Dost  thou  admit  that  the  name  and  the  object  named  are 
two  different  things  ?  Doest  thou  grant  that  the  nqme  is,  so  to  say,  an 
image  of  the  thing  ? 

(7. — Certainly. 

(The  just  preceding  part  of  the  dialogue  is  given  almost  in  full, 
in  order  to  show  the  depth  to  which  the  Greek  philosophers  delighted 
to  carry  their  discussions,  and  in  order  to  show  also  their  method,  as 
well  as  their  views  on  the  propriety  of  language.  What  follows  will 
be  again  contracted  to  the  mere  results  of  the  disputation,  without 
the  details  of  this  er6tematic  or  interrogatory  proceeding.) 

S^ — It  is  possible  to  attribute  both  kinds  of  imitation,  i.  e.,  names 
and  pictures,  to  their  objects,  f  i.,  the  image  of  a  man  to  a  man,  even 
the  image  of  a  male  to  a  female ;  although  only  the  former  be  strictly 
correct. 

C, — ^But  it  is  possible  that  the  defect  of  propriety  in  the  applica- 
tion may  occur  but  in  the  picture ;  while  the  relation  of  the  names  to 
the  things  may  be  always  correct. 

S. — If  names  can  be  improperly  apphed,  other  words  and  phrases 
may  also  be  misapplied.  Both,  the  primitive  words  and  the  images 
of  objects,  can  be  mo/e  or  less  in  keeping  with  the  objects.  In  the 
former  case  both  will  be  proper  and  the  word  will  be  a  name.  Addi- 
tion or  omission  of  letters  or  syllables  may  destroy  the  correctness  of 
the  name. 

C. — After  we  had  added,  or  retrenched  or  displaced  the  elements 
of  a  word,  we  cannot  be  said  to  write  the  word,  and  that  we  only 
write  it,  as  it  ought  not  to  be  written :  I  say  that  we  then  do  not 
write  it  at  all. 

S. — This  is  not  a  just  way  of  looking  at  the  matter.  This  is  only 
so  with  respect  to  all  those  things  whose  existence  depends  on  a  de- 
terminate number.  The  correctness  of  a  thing  existing  as  the  image 
of  a  quality,  is  not  subject  to  the  same  conditions.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary, that  the  image  represent  completely  the  object.  Would  there, 
indeed,  be  these  two  things,  Cratylus  and  his  image^  if  some  divinity 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  13*7 

had  represented  in  thy  imni]:e  the  whole  interior  of  thy  person,  thy 
whole  body  with  its  parts,  \vainit]i,  movements,  with  tliy  very  soul 
and  reason  ;  would  there  not  be  rather  two  CratyluH^s  ?  Were  this 
possible,  all  things  (i.  e.,  they  themselves  and  their  names,  perfectly 
equal  to  them)  would  he  double.  Do  not,  therefore,  insist  on  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  presence  of  all  letters  in  a  word,  in  order  that  it  may 
be  able  to  betoken  things.  The  same  is  the  case  with  words  in  a 
phrase,  with  a  })hrase  in  a  speech.  An  alteration  in  this  respect  does  not 
give  us  the  right  to  contest  the  significancy  of  words,  phrases  and 
speeches;  provided  they  give  us  an  image  of  wliat  we  mean  to  ex- 
press. A  name  is  good  altogether,  if  it  contain  all  elements  that  are 
required  to  render  it  significant :  it  will  be  bad  in  the  ratio  of  the 
absence  of  those  requisites.  Some  leitei*s  may  be  out  of  keeping  with 
the  objects  to  be  indicated :  but  the  majority  of  them  must  agree 
with  the  nature  of  the  things :  for  they  are  as  it  were  colors ;  they 
are  elements.  P  (our  R)  denotes  change  of  place,  movement,  rough- 
ness :  A,  on  the  contrary,  smoothness,  softness,  etc.  ^/cAr/poTry^S,  hai'd- 
ness,  roughness,  but  ^KXriporrj?  among  Eretrians.  Do  both  the  5  and 
P  resemble  the  same  thing  ? 

C. — They  convey  the  same  sense.- 

S. — Is  this  owing  to  the  resemblance  between  p  and  s  ? 

(7.— It  is. 

S. — Altogether  ? 

C. — At  least  by  expressing  movement. 

S. — But  does  the  A  not  express  the  contrary  to  roughness  ? 

C. — It  is  perhaps  out  of  place.  It  would  perhaps  be  better  to 
substitute  P  for  it. 

S. — I  agree  with  you.  But  do  we  not  understand  each  other  in 
saying  o-KArjpov  ? 

C. — I  understand  it,  owing  to  usage, 

(Let  us  epitomize  again.) 

S. — Use  renders  intelligible  even  what  is  indicated  by  means  of 
some  thing,  that  does  not  resemble  the  object  I  think  of,  when  I 
speak.  Thi^  is  so  in  consequence  of  an  agreement  (convention)  among 
men.  Usage,  therefore,  it  would  seem,  designates  things  by  dissimi- 
larity as  well  as  by  similarity.  Convention  and  usage  contribute 
something  to  the  choice  of  terms  we  employ,  to  express  our  thoughts 


I 


7* 


138  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

with.  Where  couldst  thou  find  for  each  number  a  name,*  that 
would  resemble '  it,  if  thou  wert  to  rely  on  a  convention  made  with 
thyself?  Names  ought  to  resemble  the  objects  as  much  as  ]X)ssible  ; 
but  we  must  beware  to  do  too  great  violence  to  words,  in  order  to  re- 
duce them  to  that  resemblance.  We  are  often  obliged,  in  account>- 
ing  for  their  meaning,  to  appeal  simply  to  convention.  But  the  best 
names  are  those  ivhich  consist  entirely^  or  mostly^  of  elements  which 
are  in  keeping  with  the  things :  and  the  worst  name  is  such  a  one^  as 
does  not  contain  any  such  elements. 

C. — Names  have  the  power  of  teaching  (Comp.  tok-en,  L.  doc-eo, 
mdic-o)  and  it  can  be  said,  without  any  restriction,  that  he  who  knows 
^he  names  knows  also  the  things. 

S. — Because  the  knowing  of  the  names  and  of  the  things,  which 
they  resemble,  are  but  one  and  the  same  science?  Has  he  who  has 
found  the  names  of  things  also  discovered  their  objects  ?  Is  there  no 
other  method  of  learning  to  know  things,  than  to  learn  their  names  ? 

C, — No ;  the  only  method  of  research,  of  invention,  is  that  we 
speak  of. 

S. — Let  us  suppose  a  man  who,  in  his  researches  into  the  nature 
of  things,  should  take  no  other  guide  than  the  names.  Doest  thou 
not  think  that  he  would  be  in  great  danger  of  being  deceived  ? 

a— How  ? 

S. — It  is  plain,  that  the  namewright  has  formed  names,  accord- 
ing to  his  own  manner  of  conceiving  the  objects  themselves.  Now, 
if  he  did  not  conceive  them  aright,  if  he  framed  words  in  keeping  with 
his  conception  ;  can  we  avo'd  being  deceived,  in  following  him  ? 

C. — But,  Socrates,  this  cannot  be  so.  He  who  established  names, 
has  done  it  with  a  knowledge  of  things,  or  there  are  no  names  at  all. 
The  best  evidence  of  the  former  case  is  just  that  concordance  which 
pervades  them.  Didst  thou  not  think  so,  in  showing  us  the  analogy 
and  common  tendency  of  all  names  ? 

S, — This  is  not  yet  a  sufficient  apology.     If  the  wordwright  had 


*  Nomen  and  nvmcrns  sprout  from  the  same  germ,  which  has  been 
pointed  out  in  tlie  last  foot-note.  Few  words  only  commencing  with  N- 
are  entire ;  most  having  lost  the  germinal  initial  k-  or  G-,  f  i.,  /mwen,  nut- 
us,  7iodviS,  nidus,  etc.  This  becomes  apparent  by  comparing  such  words 
with  E.  knot,  Slavic  ^nez-do,  nest,  etc. 


I 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  130 

committed  a  mistake  in  the  beginning,  all  his  subsequent  work  would 
partake  of  it.  The  very  principle  ought  to  be  right,  and  all  conse- 
quences from  it  ought  to  be  natural.  I  should  be  astonished,  indeed, 
if  all  names  were  perfectly  in  keeping  among  themselves. 

C. — The  sense  of  a  perpetual  movement  or  flow  is  quite  just. 

S, — Yet  'ETnoTrjjxTj,  science^  is  ambiguous,  seeming  to  express  a 
stop,  a  standing  of  the  mind  over  the  things  rather  than  its  move- 
ment along  with  them,  etc.  BcySatov,  stable,  seems  to  offer  an  image 
of  a  stationary  basis  and  not  of  movement.  'lo-Topid,  history,  seems 
to  signify  io-Trjo-i  rbv  povv,  it  stops  the  run.  Ulo-tov,  faith,  credible, 
contains  also  stand-ing.  Mvi^fjirj,  memory,  shows  per-wawence  in  the 
mind.  'A/xa^ta,  ignorance,  perhaps  a/x-a  tw  ^c(5  lovy  with  the  ^od 
going ;  and  'AKoXao-ta,  intemperance,  as  if  not  following  (dfcoAor^ta) 
things ;  etc.  From  these  two  latter  it  would  result  that  the  names 
of  the  worst  things  are  like  those  we  give  to  the  best.  From  many 
words  we  might  infer  that  they  have  been  framed  on  the  notion  of 
immobility.  It  would  not  be  very  reasonable  to  decide  about  the 
principle,  by  counting  merely  the  number  of  words  contrived  on 
either.  By  means  of  what  words  have  the  wordwiights  learned  or 
found  out  things,  when  the  first  words  did  not  exist  yet,  and  as  we 
cannot  learn  or  find  out  things  before  having  learned  or  found  out  by 
ourselves  the  signification  of  names  ?  How  could  we  say  that,  in 
order  to  establish  names,  their  contrivers  ought  to  know  the  things, 
before  there  were  names,  before  they  knew  any  of  them ;  if  it  were 
true  that  we  could  know  things  but  by  their  names  ? 

C. — The  best  answer  would  be  to  say  that  some  power  superior 
to  humanity  has  instituted  the  fii-st  names,  befitting  things. 

S. — Could  he  who, — whether  demon  or  divinity — established 
them  contradict  himself?  There  is  a  sort  of  civil  war  among  the 
names  taken  from  movement  and  from  rest.  What  principle  is  to 
decide  the  contest  ?  This  cannot  be  done  by  virtue  of  other  names  • 
for  there  are  none.  We  must,  therefore,  seek  out  of  us  some  other 
principle,  which,  in  teaching  us  the  truth  of  things,  may  cause  us  to 
know,  without  the  aid  of  names,  which  of  them  are  the  true  ones. 
If  this  be  so,  it  is  possible  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  things,  without 
the  names.  The  most  natural  way  to  that  end,  is  to  examine  the 
things  in  their  bearings  to  one  another.  If,  then,  we  can  know  the 
things,  both  by  their  names  and  by  themselves,  which  is  the  safer  and 


140  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

better  of  these  two  kinds  of  knowledge  ?  Ought  we  first  to  examine 
the  image,  whether  it  be  faithful  and  afterwards  to  inquire  for  the 
truth  it  represents  ?  or  ought  we  fii'st  examine  what  truth  is,  in  itself, 
and  to  assure  ourselves,  afterwards,  whether  the  image  correspond 
with  it  ?  To  decide  the  method  of  discoveiing  the  nature  of  beings, 
is  perhaps  beyond  our  might :  let  us  be  satisfied  to  have  recognized, 
that  it  is  not  in  the  words,  but  in  the  things  themselves,  that  we  ought 
to  study  the  latter.  Let  us  not  be  imposed  upon  by  that  great  num- 
ber of  words  that  are  related  to  the  same  system.  The  wordmakers 
strove  in  vain  to  contrive  names  on  the  idea  of  perpetual  movement, 
as  I  suppose  they  did — ;  but  it  can  be,  that,  seized  by  giddiness, 
they  were  earned  away,  in  a  whirl,  into  which  they  drag  us  also. 
Now  for  a  guess.  Must  we  say  that  the  beautiful,  the  good,  and  all 
such  things  exist  by  themselves  ?  and  ever  so  as  they  are  ?  How 
could  a  thing  be,  which  would  never  be  in  the  same  manner  ?  If,  on 
the  other  hand,  it  be  always  the  same  and  in  the  same  manner,  how 
could  it  change,  move  ?  (Cratylus  rephes  assentingly  to  all  queries.) 
Such  a  thing  could  not  be  recognized  by  any  body.  There  would  be, 
— in  that  case, — no  knowledge  at  all.  For,  if  the  very  thing  we  call 
knowledge  does  not  cease  to  be  knowledge,  knowledge  suleists  and 
exists.  But  if  the  very  form  of  knowledge  change,  it  changes  itself 
into  another  form  which  is  not  that  of  knowledge,  and  then  there  is 
no  knowledge.  But  if  that  which  knows  subsists,  and  if  that  which 
is  known  subsists  also,  then  all  things  do  resemble  but  little  that  imi- 
versal  mobility.  It  is  ]iard  to  decide,  whether  tmth  be  in  this  opin- 
ion, or  in  that  of  HeracUtus.  It  does  not  become  a  wise  man  to  sub- 
mit blindly  to  the  dominion  of  words,  and  to  that  of  their  framei-s ; 
nor  is  it  proper  to  admit  that  there  is  nothing  stable,  that  every  thing 
changes  for  ever.  Yet  I  cannot  decide,  if  it  be  so  or  not.  Thou  art 
young  yet,  O  Cratylus.  After  thou  shalt  have  well  studied  the  ques- 
tion at  issue,  and  if  thou  shalt  have  found  a  good  solution  of  it,  thou 
must  come  and  impart  it  to  me. 

(See  this  whole  treatise  in  Plato's  works :  Edit,  of  Aldus  ; 
edit,  of  Heindorf,  text  by  Bekker,  Latin  by  Ficinus  ;  Edition  of 
Greek  and  Latin  by  Ast  ;  German  by  Sciileiermacher  ;  French  by 
V.  Cousin.  Eclogues  of  and  Scholia  on  the  same,  by  Proclus, 
who  refutes  some  etyma,  substituting  othei-s,  that  are  not  much  better. 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  141 

Plato  had  been  a  disciple  of  Cratylus,  whose  opinion  he  adopts  on 
the  subject  of  words.) 

Vieios  of  other  Philosophers. 

Pythagoras,  on  being  asked  which  Being  he  thought  to  be 
the  wisest  ?  replied  "  The  Number r  And  next  to  this  ?  "  That  which 
has  given  names  to  things^  By  the  former  he  meant  the  intelligent 
world,  by  the  latter  the  soul. 

Democritus,  being  of  the  opinion  of  our  Hermogenes,  en- 
deavored to  prove  that  names  were  made  by  men,  as  it  were  acci- 
dentally, by  the  four  following  arguments :  a)  by  homonyms  (equal 
names)  applied  to  different  things ;  h)  by  synonyms  or  different  names 
given  to  the  same  thing ;  c)  by  the  change  of  names ^  f.  i.,  of  Aristo- 
cles  into  Plato,  of  Tyrtamus  into  Theophrastus ;  d)  by  the  defect  of 
analogy^  f.  i.,  why  is  there  no  verb  to  match  the  noun  StKatoo-vFT/,  jus- 
tice, as  cjipovelvj  to  undei-stand,  is  matched  by  <t>p6v7)o-L%  prudence  ? 

Epicurus  .  asserted  that  names  were  made  without  science,  by 
a  natural  instinct,  just  as  coughing,  sneezing,  sighing,  etc.,  are  pro- 
duced. 

Aristotle  thought  that  language  was  framed  by  mere  consent 
among  men.  Nature,  he  says,  gave  us  voice,  as  it  gave  movement 
to  the  body.  Froclus  replies  that  a  name  (word)  is  not  altogether 
the  work  of  the  organs,  inasmuch  as  it  signifies ;  for,  voice  is  not  a 
name.  Voice  is  produced  by  the  organs  and  furnishes  the  matter  for 
the  name,  which  is  produced  by  the  mind  that  gives  it  a  form,  a  type. 
Aristotle  says :  what  i**  natural  is  every  where  the  same ;  but  names 
are  not  eveiy  where  the  same  ;  hence  names  are  not  natural.  Pro- 
clus  objects  (to  the  major) :  eyes,  color,  voice,  magnitude,  etc. 
are  formed  by  nature,  without  being  every  where  the  same,  and  (to 
the  minor)  the  name  as  the  form  of  different  matter,  is  every  where 
the  same  [Gassendi,  Vol.  I.,  362.) 

(These  argumentations  are  more  truly  a  kind  of  fencing  with  words, 
than  genuine  reasonings.  See  p.  125.  Goethe.) 

Herod,  hist.  XL,  2,  The  Egyptians,  before  the  reign  of  Psammiti- 

chus,  had  believed  themselves  to  be  the  most  ancient  of  men 

Psammitichus,  desirous,  but  unable  to  come  to  a  solution  concerning  the 
first  men,  contrived  as  follows.     He  entrusted  two  new-bom  boys  to 


l^jL,.--'"  GERMS    AND   ROOTS. 

a  pastor,  to  be  brought  up  with  the  flock.  He  commanded  that  no 
word  sliould  be  uttered  in  their  hearing,  but  that  they  should  stay  in  a 
sohtary  hut  by  theraseh'es,  and  that  goats  should  be  brought  to  them, 
at  certain  times,  to  feed  them  with  milk  ....  Psammitichus  wished  to 
find  out  what  word  they  would  utter  first ....  After  two  years  of  this 
treatment,  at  the  entrance  of  the  pastor,  both  boys,  fondling  at  his 
feet  and  stretching  out  their  arms,  cried  out  )8ckos  ....  This  word 
they  repeated  .  .  .  . ;  and  it  was  found  out  that  it  meant  bread  among 
the  Phrygians  ....  Since  then  the  -Egyptians  allowed  the  Phrygians 
to  be  anterior  to  themselves.  3  .  .  .  .  Greeks  tell  many  other  idle 
stories ;  among  others,  that  Psammitichus ....  fed  the  boys  on  t(mgues 
of  women  ....  To  test  these  narrations,  I  went  (from  Memphis)  to 
Thebes  and  Heliopolis,  for  the  Hehopohtans  are  said  to  be  the  most 
learned  in  antiquities  .  .  .  ." 

Other  opinions  of  the  ancients  may  be  found  in  James  Harris's 
Hermes^  or  a  philosophical  inquiry  concerning  universal  Grammar, 
Book  III. 

Genes.  L,  verse  5  the  word  "  calM,''^  fc<  n  p  (identic  with  Kpd-^w, 
KTjpvy,  cry,  call,  i.  e.,  name)  is  used  in  the  sense  of  distinguishing  one 
thing  from  its  opposite  (day  from  night).  II.,  verse  1 9,  And  out  of 
the  ground  the  Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of  the  field,  and  every 
fowl  of  the  air ;  and  brought  them  unto  Adam  to  see  what  he  would 
call  them :  and  whatsoever  Adam  called  every  living  creature,  that 
was  the  name  thereof."  As  in  the  first  chapters  of  the  Genesis  the 
relation  of  man  to  himself,  to  the  world,  to  God,  is  characterized ;  in 
this  passage  his  standing  towards  the  animals  is  especially  pointed 
out.  God  appointed  man  to  be  the  chief-creature  over  all  other  be- 
ings of  the  earth,  by  giving  him  the  power  of  ruling  over  them. 
Here  man  is  represented  as  entering  into  this  relation,  in  a  sort  of  in- 
dependent, self-acting  way,  by  putting  himself  near  to  or  far  from  the 
animals  (i.  e.,  domestic  and  wild),  according  to  the  fitness  of  his  na- 
ture to  theii*s.  By  giving  them  names,  man  pointed  out  their  posi- 
tion towards  himself.  At  the  same  time,  the  natural  origin  of  speech 
or  language  is  here  indicated,  as  resulting  from  the  occurrence  of 
things  (or  external  objects,  from  the  peculiarity  of  the  material 
world)  in  reference  to  the  view  taken  of  them  by  man,  by  the  power 
of  his  own  mental  faculties.  This  idea  of  the  origin  of  language  is 
proved  to  be  correct  by  all  the  phenomena  and  characteristics  of  the 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 


^^Qa«lfe 


world,  of  our  mind  and  of  our  organs  of  speech  and  of  hearing.  (See 
Chap.  I.) 

Before  entering  upon  the  research  into  the  Germs  of  Language, 
some  opinions  of  later  writers  will  be  shortly  adduced. 

Cicero,  de  invent.,  says :  "Ac  mihi  quidem  videntur  homines, 
cum  multis  rebus  humiliores  et  infirmiores  sint,  hac  re  maxime  bes- 
tiis  praestare,  quod  loqui  possunt." 

Koran,  Sura  II.,  verse  31,  "And  God  taught  Adam  the  very 
names  of  all  things :  then  he  displayed  them  before  the  angels,  and 
said  :  'Enounce  to  me  the  names  of  these  things,  if  ye  are  truthful'  " 
Sura^  XXVIL,  vei'se  17  :  "And  Salomon  was  the  heir  of  David  in 
prophecy  and  science,  and  he  said:  'O  men,  we  were*  taught  the 
language  of  birds  and  we  were  gifted  with  every  thing ;  this  is  indeed, 
manifest  excellence." 

Zamchascer  thus  comments  thereupon  (on  speech)  :  "  Every  thing 
is  uttered  by  voice,  whether  it  be  useful  or  useless." 

The  Arabs  say  that  all  birds  and  other  animals  are  gifted  with 
speech,  that  Salomon  understood  this  speech  and  that  he  attributed 
to  several  birds  various  moral  sentences  and  praises  of  God.  Thus :  to 
the  pea-cock,  "As  thou  shalt  act,  so  wilt  thou  be  judged;"  to  the  hoopoe, 
"  Ask  the  mercy  of  God,  O  sinners ;"  to  the  swallow,  "  Send  before 
yourselves  good  works  and  ye  shall  find  them;"  to  the  pelican, 
"  Praised  be  the  Lord  upon  high  for  the  water  of  his  heavens  and  of 
his  earth ;"  to  the  turtle-dove,  "  Praised  be  my  Lord  the  Highest ;" 
to  the  chicken-cock,  "  Mind  God,  O  ye  lazy  ones  !"  to  the  black  eagle, 
"  We  find  quietness  by  remo\'ing  far  from  men ;"  etc.,  etc. 

St.  Augustine,  de  civit.  Dei,  XVI.,  11 :  "  The  house  of  Heber, 
when  the  other  nations  were  divided  by  other  languages,  kept  the 
fii-st  language,  ....  which,  while  it  remained  one,  was  called  human 
speech  .  .  .  ." 

Dr.  Wilkins  and  Lord  Monboddo  speculated  on  the  story  re- 
lated by  Herodotus,  and  about  a  language  made  out  of  elements  by 
a  nation  of  philosophere ! 

ELEMENTS    OF    LANGUAGE. 

After  having  given  the  principal  opinions  concerning  the  origin  of 
language,  we  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  phenomena  in 


1^     «*<  "   ^  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

the  structure  of  words,  as  they  offer  themselves  to  a  mind  disembar- 
rassed from  all  preconceived  opinions  on  the  subject.  The  English 
language  itself  will  be  the  principal  one,  upon  whose  dictionary  the 
examples  will  be  drawn.  The  Latin  will  be  the  next  witness  and  the 
German  will  follow  in  the  closest  proximity.  As  regards  the  modern 
languages  of  western  Europe,  those  of  the  south  will  receive  the  next 
attention,  i.  e.,  the  Italian,  Span.,  Portug.,  and  French ;  in  preference 
to  the  northern,  i.  e.,  the  Holland.,  Dansk,  Swensk,  Icelandic.  The 
Slavic  dialects  will  occasionally  be  quoted  ;  the  Celtic  next,  etc.  Since 
the  Greek  has  been  too  much  refined  by  overwrought  grammatic 
fretwork,  and  since  the  Sanscrit  is  even  more  mollified  by  phonetic 
alterations ;  they  will  be  called  in  less  frequently  than  it  is  usual  in 
modern  glossologic  works. 

The  reader  will  please  to  bear  in  mind  what  has  been  said  at  the 
boundary  between  the  21st  and  22d  pages;  as  we  now  enter  in  good 
earnest  into  our  subject. 

There  is  only  one  way  of  fonning  language ;  each  accumulation 
of  men  finds  it  by  itself,  according  to  the  tiiad  which  has  been  men- 
tioned so  often  (i.  e.,  mind,  things,  organs). 

History  dawns  about  2000  yeai's  before  Christ,  and  shows  us  Asia 
and  a  part  of  Africa  already  inhabited  by  many  peoples,  diflerent  by 
languages,  religions,  charactei's.  Some  states  were  already  developed, 
but  there  were  also  many  wild  hordes,  slave-trade,  wars.  Soon  simi- 
lar views  are  opened  in  Europe,  where  trade  in  yellow  amber  is  going 
on,  on  the  Baltic  sea,  at  Homer's  time,  tin-trade  on  the  British  isles, 
both  carried  on  by  Phoenicians. 

Geology  teaches  how  certain  poilions  of  this  earth  w^ere  lifted  up 
above  the  waters ;  and  history  as  well  as  glossology  trace  to  the  firet 
highlands  thus  raised,  the  origin  of  our  race.  Central  Asia,  whose 
highest  portion  is  the  desert  of  Kobi,  is  thus  pointed  out  as  the  most 
probable  cradle  of  mankind.  Various  peoples  emigTated  thence,  in 
the  direction  of  the  rivers  which  flow  towards  all  the  points  of  the 
compass  (the  Selinga,  Obi,  Irtish,  Lena,  Jenisei ;  laik,  lihon,  lemba ; 
Amur,  Hoang-ho ;  Indus,  Ganges,  Buramputre).  South,  amid  high 
mountains,  is  Tibet,  with  everlasting  summer  and  rich  in  fruits  and 
animals.  The  charming,  ever  springlike  valley  of  Kashmir,  opening 
towards  the  south,  surpasses  all  other  portions  of  the  old  continent 
(as  its  rose  does  all  flowers),  in  every  thing  that  is  beautiful  and  whole- 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  145 

some  in  nature.     Mosheii's  cosmogony  agi-ees  with  that  of  the  Indi- 
ans (not  the  so-called  natives  of  Amenca !)  in  great  many  things. 

From  the  scale  of  all  languages  that  have  been  properly  exam- 
ined we  find,  by  critic  analysis  and  by  comparison  of  what  is  essential 
in  them,  those  constant  and,  so  to  say,  natural,  organic  elements, 
which  constitute  the  genuine  principles  of  human  speech.  Ilowever 
scanty  these  germs  may  be,  they  are,  nevertheless,  the  parents  of  all 
the  variety  of  words ;  they  are,  indeed,  a  universal  language  whose 
portions  are  distributed  through  the  complex  of  all  languages.  Those 
languages  which  contain  most  of  these  absolute,  original,  genetic  and 
organic  principles,  in  the  least  disguised  form,  have  a  just  claim  to 
be  considered  as  the  best.  They  are  really  the  languages  of  those 
tribes  and  nations  which  have  played  the  most  prominent  parts  in  the 
drama  of  mankind.  For,  the  very  possession  of  such  languages 
shows  irrefragably  the  greatest  development  of  the  respective  nations, 
as  well  as  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  under  which  those  na- 
tions have  lived.  Of  all  families  of  languages  the  most  distinguished 
in  those  respects  is  the  Aryan  (excellent)  or  Indo-European^  of  which 
the  principal  again  is  the  Sanskrita  (perfect,  completed).  Now,  as 
the  Greek,  Latin,  Teutic,  Celtic  and  Slavic  are  eminent  membei-s  of 
that  family,  and  as  the  English  again  is  an  amalgam  of  Teutic  (or 
German)  with  Latin,  into  which  many  single  words  of  other  members 
of  said  family  are  interspersed  (besides  few  coming  from  other  fami- 
lies) ;  the  English  is  certainly  the  most  apt  medium  by  which  glossolo- 
gy may  be  studied  to  the  greatest  advantage. 

The  fii-st  utterance  of  children  by  voice,  is  that  of  the  feeling  of 
their  internal  state,  or  instinct  without  a  clear  idea  in  the  mind.  Sim- 
ple vocals  (?*,  ^,  a,  later  o,  u)^  therefore,  with  their  various  tones  (ac- 
cents, heights),  are  the  first  germ  of  all  speech-sounds,  before  the  pro- 
per organs  of  speech  are  sufficiently  strengthened,  and  before  ideas  or 
clear  conceptions  of  the  external  world  (by  means  of  the  organs  of 
.  the  external  sense)  can  be  formed  in  consequence  of  perceptions. 

Similar  may  have  been  the  origin  of  language  in  the  firet  genera- 
tion of  man.  The  languages  of  the  South-sea  islands,  of  many  ab- 
origines of  America,  exhibit  this  character,  and  there  are  even  in 
Greek  such  mere  vocal  words  (det,  ttto),  aco,  co),  eato,  rjii^-of;,  6a,  otoo), 
oto),  wa).  No  Chinese  word,  and  few  on  the  eastern  South-sea  islands, 
end  into  a  consonant.  As  soon  as  the  tongue  and  lips  become  capable  to 


146  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

perform  their  speech-function,  lingual  and  labial  sounds  are  pro- 
nounced (Za,  6a,  ma),  the  throat  (guttur)  having  already  been  en- 
gaged in  the  production  of  the  pure  vocals,  with  some  weak  effoi-ts  to 
form  decided  gutturals.  These  have  been  foreshadowed  by  the  first 
cry  of  i  and  of  a.  IIontan  attempted  in  vain  to  teach  a  Huron  to 
pronounce  labials.  Many  tribes  are  unable  to  utter  b,  d  ;  the  Tahv- 
tans  cannot  bring  out  sibilants,  yet  so  abundant  in  other  languages, 
they  said  Ju-tu  for  Cook.  The  Chinese  are  unable  to  sound  r,  and 
always  substitute  I  (ki-li-si-ti  for  Christ)  ;  unable  also  to  utter  two 
consecutive  consonants.   The  Japanese  are  as  inept  at  Z,  substituting  r. 

Pure  syllables^  i.  e.,  beginning  with  consonants  and  ending  with 
vowels,  are  of  earlier  origin  than  those  with  inverted  order  {impure 
syllables).  Those  beginning  and  ending  with  the  same  consonant, 
with  an  intermediate  vocal,  arose  still  later,  and  lastly,  those  having 
different  consonants  at  both  extremes. 

All  so-called  Roots  are  monosyllabic.  Shemitic  grammarians, 
being  wedded  to  Rabbinic  theories  of  the  10th  century,  assert  that 
the  roots  of  that  family  of  languages  consist  of  two  syllables.  The 
Hemsterhuysian  Greek  school  adopted  the  same  hypothesis.  Both 
are  in  error !  Julius  Klaprotii  has  proved  this  assertion  of  John 
Chr.  Adelung,  at  the  request  of  Baron  de  Merian,  by  actual  ex- 
amination of  Arabic  so  called  triliteral  roots. 

The  word  Root,  and  what  is  commonly  taken  for  such,  will  be 
explained  in  the  sequel.  For  those  who  consider  languages  as  issu- 
ing from  specific  (Sanscrit,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Lat.,  Teut.,  etc.,  etc.)  roots, 
according  to  the  loose  acceptation  of  this  modern  term,  it  is  necessaiy 
to  remark  that  such  an  application  of  this  scholasti co-fashionable 
word  is  nothing  else  than  a  new  mistake,  put  in  the  place  of  an  old 
one.  Many  of  our  would-be  reformers  are  extolled  merely  on  account 
of  their  striving  to  replace  something  that  had  been.  Often  an  error 
differs  from  a  moss-covered  and  venerable  looking  veteran  mistake 
only  by  the  freshness  of  its  appearance.  The  hunting  after  Sanscrit- 
roots  is  not  very  much  better,  than  the  now  exploded  baiting  for  He- 
brew roots,  on  barren  ground,  had  been.  There  are  no  roots  peculiar 
to  any  given  language.  Nor  is  every  complex  of  sounds  or  letters, 
hawked  about  in  the  "  Horti  radicum  groecarum,  slavicarum,  etc.," 
of  very  elementary  import.  For  these  reasons,  the  author  ventures 
to  eschew  this  term,  when  taken  vaguely,  by  introducing  in  its  stead 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  14^ 

that  of  OERM^  whereof  the  germs  will  be  given  in  the  proper 
place. 

The  germs  of  all  languages  are  the  sa,me.  They  are  the  matrices 
of  the  roots  themselves.  To  say  that  all  languages  originate  from 
one  is  not  a  novelty ;  but  the  exposition  of  the  mental  and  organic 
(both  glossic  and  acoustic)  process,  by  which  language  has  grown 
from  a  centre  into  rays  (radii)  or  specific  tongues  (idioms,  dialects, 
patois,  jargons,  lingos,  etc.),  has  been  reserved  to  this  work. 

G.  Stiernhielm,  although  not  the  fii*st  of  this  opinion,  has  clearly 
expressed  it  in  his  treatise  on  Ulphilas  (see  p.  99,  on  the  Moeso-Gothic 
alphabet),  that  all  languages  come  from  one  source,  by  saying :  .... 
videri  oranes  linguas  ....  ex  una  ortas  et  ad  unam  posse  reduci .... 
Haec  similis  materiae  primse,  quae  capax  omnium  formarum,  .... 
nullique  perpetuo  pertinax,  ipsa  in  basi  immobilis  et  immortahs." 
Zamacola  writes  the  same  thing,  thus  :  *'  Todas  las  lenguas  descien- 
den  de  una  sola  ....  primitiva  variada,  cambiacla,  enriquecida."  The 
testimonies  might  be  multipHed.     (See  p.  20,  No.  9.) 

As  men  oft'er  the  greatest  variety  in  the  lineaments  of  their  face, 
in  the  configuration  of  their  skull,  in  the  what  the  French  call  timbre 
of  their  voice,  and  in  almost  all  specific  singularities  of  their  parts 
and  qualities,  without  ceasing  to  be  members  of  one  and  the  same 
human  race ;  so  do  languages,  though  radiating  from  one  centre,  di- 
verge into  an  (almost)  infinity  of  idioms  (see  p.  25).  As  through 
the  whole  world  (koo-jlios)  unity  is  co-existent  with  \n\\\\A-versity  ;  so 
also  in  human  speech.  One  law  pervades  both  the  spiritual  and  the 
physical  world.  This  has  been  recognized  by  the  master-minds  of  all 
ages.  We  need  but  mention  Mosheh,  David,  the  philosophers  of 
India,  Pythagoras,  Plato,  Newton,  Leibnitz,  Linnee,  Cuvier,  Goethe. 

With  all  that  has  been  said  already,  the  entrance  into  the  sanctu- 
aiy  of  the  elements  of  language  cannot  be  made  without  some  further 
prehminary  observations,  without  some  admonitions  about  the  man- 
ner in  which  we  ought  to  guard  oui-selves  against  the  bewitching  in- 
fluence of  the  current  notions  inculcated  by  early  training.  There  is 
so  much  and  so  great  a  want  of  accuracy,  both  in  the  use  of  the  (so- 
called  technic,  or  scientific)  te7V7is  and  in  the  phraseology  of  our  ele- 
mentary sciences  {^Grammar  and  Mathe7n(Mics),  that  their  study  can- 
not produce  those  beneficial  results  (i.  e.,  sharpen,  strengthen,  expand, 
our  mind  and  chasten  our  taste),  which  their  subject  could  not  fail  to 


148  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

bless  us  with,  if  they  were  reasonably  treated.  As  it  does  not  belong 
to  this  work  to  treat  of  the  science  of  quantity,  some  remarks  on  the 
method  by  which  it  is  commonly  taught  will  be  made  in  the  Appen- 
dix. From  some  flaws  we  may  recognize  the  whole  chaos  of  our 
Grammar.  After  a  child  (in  age  or  in  knowledge)  had  been  duly 
initiated  (compare  p.  12  and  foil.)  in  the  majestic  mysteiies  of  the 
spelling-book,  it  is  introduced  with  great  pomp  into  the  hall  of  Gram- 
mar. Here  he  is  taught  that  there  are  9  "  Parts  of  Sj^eech  (8  in 
Latin),"  viz. :  article^  noun^  pronoun^  verb,  participle,  adverb,  preposi- 
tion, conjunction,  and  interjection.  Let  us  see.  The  meaning  of  the 
word  Fart,  is  best  determined  by  the  axiom,  "  all  parts  are  equal  to 
the  whole  ;"  that  of  speech  has  been  indicated  on  p.  2 1 .  The  Chinese 
language  which  has  no  such  thing  as  our  parts  of  speech,  could  be 
no  speech  if  our  current  notions  on  language  and  grammar  were  cor- 
rect :  yet  this  very  Chinese  language  is  more  precise  than  even  the 
Arabic,  which  abounds  in  all  sorts  of  grammatic  contrivances.  Is  it 
the  expression  of  thoughts  and  feelings,  i.  e.,  language,  or  speech  in 
general  ?  or  is  it  the  specific  tongue  of  an  individual  nation,  that  is 
understood  under  the  name  of  Speech  in  our  school-books  ?  In  both 
cases  the  expression  "  Parts  of  Speech"  is  incorrect.  The  word  better 
is  now  an  adjective,  now  an  adverb,  now  a  verb,  according  to  the 
logic  relation  to  other  words  in  a  sentence.  Great  many  other 
words  perform  the  function  now  of  one,  now  of  two,  now  of  three 
parts  of  speech  in  English,  as  well  as  in  other  languages.  How  would 
it  fall  upon  common  sense,  if  we  spoke  thus  :  "  There  are  9  parts  of 
nature :  line,  pumpkin,  gold,  cloud,  dream,  elephant,  inky  doctor,  and 
boots.  If  the  pumpkin  stand  between  the  hne,  and  another  pump- 
kin, it  is  a  pumpkin  ;  but  between  the  cloud  and  the  ink  it  becomes 
an  elephant,  and  after  the  gold  it  becomes  a  cloud."  This  is  no  ex- 
aggeration. 

What  is  the  rationale  of  the  grammatic  nomenclature  ?  It  is  the 
logic  relation  of  one  word  to  another,  and  not  any  essential  quality 
of  the  Avords  themselves.  A  bee  is  a  bee  whether  it  be  in  the  bee- 
hive, or  sucking  a  flower,  or  flying  in  the  air  ;  whether  it  bo  on  or  be- 
low a  board,  etc.  Position  points  out  the  relation  of  one  thing  to 
another,  without  affecting  tke  essence  or  substance  of  things. 

All  words  are  articles,  injusmuch  tis  they  (p.  G9)  are  limbs  and 
links  of  language  ;  all  words  are  nouns^  inasmuch  as  they  (p.  60)  are 


I 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  ,  149 

names  or  tokens  ;  all  words  are  prepositions^  whenever  they  are  put 
before  other  words !  The  pronouns^  far  from  being  originally  and 
truly  vicegerents  (lieutenants,  substitutes)  of  the  so-called  nouns,  are 
genuine  substantive  words,  pointing  out  objects  and  their  positions  in 
space  and  time  ;  thus  becoming  fathers  of  many  other  so-called  parts 
of  speech  (of  nouns  themselves,  of  adverbs,  etc.)  For,  the  impres- 
sions (see  pp.  25,  26)  made  upon  our  mind  are  expressed  by  bodily 
gestures,  especially  by  those  which  produce  articulated  sounds.  We 
point  out,  show  the  objects  with  our  fingers,  eyes,  and  tongue.  The 
oral  (or  phonetic,  audible)  gests  are  just  that  thing  which  is  called 
pronoun.  It  exists  before  other  so-called  parts  of  speech  can  exist. 
The  noun  is  but  a  more  ample,  more  fashioned  (developed)  and  more 
specific  token  of  an  object  (see  below  the  word  thing).  We  could 
have  no  speech  or  language  at  all  without  this  kind  of  word,  which  is 
mis-called  pronoun.  A  participle  !  This  name  betrays  another  in- 
consistency in  our  grammatic  nomenclature.  It  is  framed  on  the 
idea,  that  this  part  of  speech  partakes  of  the  nature  of  the  verb 
(comes  from  it)  and  of  that  of  the  adjective.  Well !  this  shows  its 
origin  and  its  synonymity.  Pray,  why  are  the  other  parts  of  speech 
not  denominated  according  to  the  same  principle  ?  If  this  were  so, 
we  should  find  that  many  of  them  are  also  participles.  This  whole 
terminology  is  squinting  !  The  article  is  so  named  from  being  a  par- 
ticle of  some  whole ;  the  noun  from  being  a  token ;  the  verb  from 
living ;  the  participle  from  part-keeping ;  the  adverb  from  being  at 
(near)  a  verb ;  the  preposition  from  being  put  before  words ;  the  cmi- 
junction  from  joining  together;  and  the  interjection  from  being 
thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  medley  !  It  would  be  just  as  correct 
to  divide  mankind  into  9  classes  thus :  interlopers^  aristocrats^  drudges^ 
ivhite  men,  merchants,  parasites,  fore-runners,  go-betweens,  and  criers, 
Tataric  languages  have  no  prepositions  at  all,  suffixing  postpositions 
in  their  stead.  Such  is  the  case  often  in  Latin,  f.  i.,  mecum,  nobis- 
cum,  etc.,  very  often  in  Engl.,  f.  i.,  "  Where  do  you  come  fro7n^  To 
look  at,"  etc.,  etc. 

The  real  parts  of  speech,  are  the  logic  categories  of  the  sentence 
or  proposition,  which  is  the  outward  picture  of  the  inward  mental 
picture  (see  p.  23  and  26)  of  a  thought  or  feeling.  Those  parts,  if 
treated  with  common  sense,  cease  to  be  what  really  deserves  the 
name  of  part  or  portion.     Taken  as  parts  in  the  current  scholastic 


150  ,  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

(modern !)  sense,  they  are  counted  over  and  over  again,  in  the  same 
way,  as  if  we  were  to  count  the  parts  of  the  United  States  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  "  the  United  States  consist  of  Massachussetts,  Con- 
necticut, and  the  other  4  states  of  New  England  ;  of  New  England, 
New- York,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  California  and  the  other  states  of  the 
Union;  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  of  Ulster  Co.,  New- York  Co^ 
Madison  Co.,  and  other  counties  of  the  several  states ;  of  the  Manhat- 
tan island.  Navy  island,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  counting,  recounting,  helter- 
skelter,  co-ordinate  with  subordinate  portions,  as  if  they  all  were  mem- 
bers of  a  sound  division. 

What  is  one  part  of  speech  in  the  Grammar  of  one  language,  is 
very  often  some  other  part  or  several  other  parts,  in  another  specific 
Grammar. 

While  writing  this,  the  author  found  the  following  short  notice  in 
the  reprint  of  the  W^estminster  Review,  April,  1852,  p.  357  : 

"  The  Grammar  of  English  Grammars,"  by  Goold  Brown,  is  quite  a  phi- 
lological curiosity ;  it  bears  the  same  relation  to  English  grammars  that 
"Cobbin's  Condensed  Commentary"  bears  to  "Biblical  Annotators."  A 
catalogue  is  given  of  about  400  Grammars,  which  have  been  dissected  and 
distributed  into  their  appropriate  places  in  this  encyclopaedic  work.  The 
author  has  been  27  years  employed  in  picking  his  materials,  and  on  finish- 
ing iiis  Johnsonian  labors,  expresses  "  reverend  gratitude  to  God  for  the 
signal  mercy  which  has  enabled  him  to  get  through  his  task !" 

G.  B.  ought  to  have  prayed  for  mercy  on  the  poor  innocent  chil- 
dren. (See  pp.  13^,  14.)  Poor  children  and  poor  grammatist  of 
grammatists!  His  task  reminds  us  of  Scaliger's  saying:  "Qui  con- 
tra parentes  peccavit,  non  in  carcerem,  mittendus,  sed  contexat  lexicon." 

Hoots,  stems,  themes,  primitives,  etyma,  are  also  commonly  con- 
founded one  with  the  other :  so  that  the  student  becomes  quite  be- 
wildered by  their  indiscriminate  application,  now  to  one,  now  to  an- 
other thing,  and  that  he  may  exclaim  with  the  pupil  of  Mephistopheles : 

"  Mir  wird  von  alle  dem  so  dumm, 
Als  ging'  mir  ein  MQhlrad  im  Kopf  herum."*    Goethe. 

But  as  the  way  of  precepts  (rules,  or  assertions)  is  longer  and  less 
clear  than  that  of  examples ;  the  reader  is  invited  to  examine  the  fol- 


*  Word  for  word,  "To  me  gets  of  all  this  so  dim  (dumb,  dull,  dark), 
As  gang  me  a  mill-wheel  (rot-a)  in  the  head  (cap-ut)  about  (circum)." 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  161 

lowing  words,  taken  at  random  :  thing^  bring,  since,  that,  butter,  metal, 
round,  rairi,  straight,  light,  shield,  field,  club,  son,  after,  plain,  sweat, 
spin,  spend,  and,  or.  These  are  called  words,  without  any  regard  to 
their  origin,  to  their  affinity  with  other  words,  to  their  formation,  etc. 
Most  of  them  are  even  called  roots,  simply  because  they  are  mono- 
syllabic. Now ;  what  are  they  in  reality  ?  Some  are  compounds  ;  all 
had  passed  through  the  same  process,  which  they  are  now  again  sub- 
jected to  in  our  grammatic  mills.  Let  us  scrutinize  (apply  a  screw = 
search)  them. 

Thing  is  (what  is  now  called)  a  participle  present ;  having  passed  through 
the  process  of  conjugation,  just  as  loving  from  love.  It  is  the  indicative 
(demonstrative,  betokening)  the,  conjugated  thus :  I  the  (i.  e.,  make  you 
see,  L.  sic,  such,  and  is,  iste,  etc.)  thou  the-est,  he  the-s  (the-eth)  etc.  When- 
ever we  are  at  a  loss  to  find,  as  quickly  as  the  haste  of  speech  requires, 
the  specific  usual  name  of  any  object,  we  call  it  thing,  i.  e.,  the  visible  or 
otherwise  perceptible  being.     The  is,  therefore,  the  germ  of  this  word. 

Bring  is  another  participle  present,  but  of  a  compound  ;  not  being  any 
thing  else  than  the  syncopated  (shrivelled)  bearing  (just  as  or  has  shrunk 
together  from  other,  Lat.  uter ;  correl.  to  either;  as  French  sur  from  L. 
super). 

Since  is  the  3d  pers.  plur.  of  the  L.  sum.  It  is  but  a  mis-written  sint, 
and  it  is  used  instead  of  the  phrase  "  cum  res  ita  sint,"  as  the  things  are  so. 
Patience,  ancient  are  similarly  mis- written,  instead  of  patientia,  anteient-e. 
Old  Germ,  sinte-mal,  HoU.  sint,  Swed.  sed-an,  Lat.  sit,  etc. 

That  is  a  participle  past  of  the  same  germ  with  thing ;  correlated 
to  it  just  as  bring  is  to  brought ;  and  written  &.  la  Pitman,  just  so  as  our 
bread  is  but  a  disguise  of  fruit,  from  fruct  and  this  from  fraught  or  brought. 
Compare  night  with  L.  noct-e  and  Ital.  not-te ;  or  teach,  doc-eo  with 
taught,  doct-us,  dot-to. 

Bulier  is  compound  of  fiovs,  bull,  cow,  from  bu !  and  rvphs,  cheese,  =  cow- 
cheese,  i.  e,,  that  which  is  s-queez-ed  out  of  the  milk,  whether  it  be  oily  or 
albuminous.    Tvp-os  itself  is  identic  with  L.  ^i^r-us,  hard. 

Metal  is  compound  of  /^erct,  with,  in,  by,  ^fter,  between,  for,  etc.  (of  the 
same  germs  with  Engl,  meet,  mid-die,  Gr.  /ier-pew,  L.  metior),  and  of  JkXKos 
L.  al-ius,  al-ter,  E.  el-se;  hence  signifying  things  gone  after,  met  with 
among  others.  Mr.  Sutter  went  to  California  in  search  of  some  things,  but 
he  met  with  something  el-se ;  he  found  gold. 

Round  is  a  participle  from  the  Germ,  r,  which  is  the  symbol  and  staple 
of  run,  rush,  roll,  ruin,  rash,  roar,  re-peat,  etc. ;  shortened  from  L.  rotund- 
us ;  comp.  rota,  wheel.     Another  sprout  of  the  same  germ  is 

Rain,  a  participle  and  syncope  of  G.  r^'^-en,  Goth,  rig-n,  L.  rig-o,  1  be- 
sprinkle, wet;  disgnised  in  ros,  roris,  dew;  whence  Fr.  arroser,  etc.  It  is 
formed  just  as  spoken,  heaven,  brown  are  from  speak,  heave,  burn,  etc. 
Compare  the  vulgar  seed  and  hear?t  with  the  book-aristocrats  seeTi  and 


152  GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  | 

hear^.  We  might  have :  spoked,  as  we  have  heaved.  Ilvp,  fir-e,  whence  L. 
prun-a,  red-  (or  brown-)  hot  coal.  From  the  shape  of  the  fire's  flame  we 
have  the  Greek  and  other  names  of  tilings  that  resemble  its  conic  shape,  viz. : 
jjyramid,  Pyrenees,  pyriim  pear,  and  fir-tree ;  and,  from  the  color,  the  L. 
prun-um,  prune  (with  the  alteration  of  cognate  sounds :  plum,  Germ, 
pflaume ;  just  as  pilgrim  from  peregrin-us). 

Straight  is  a  supercompound  of  the  germs  st^  r,  g,  t.    It  is,  at  the  same 
time,  a  sort  of  contradictor  to  itself,  an  emblem  of  stability  and  mobility, 
of  connexion  and  separation.     How  ?    Thus.     St  denotes  want  of  move- 
ment, constancy,  here  not  an  absoli^te  stop,  but  a  constant  reach-ing.    R  be- 
tokens movement  from  the  starting  pointy,  i.  e.,  extension  to  the  tip  of  the 
tongue,  which  rattles  it,  from  the  root  of  the  tongue  (see  p.  21).    We  have 
thus  an  image  of  a  real  line,  or  leng-th  or  reach,  range,  rack,  L.  reg-o,  di- 
rig-o.    This  righ-t  is  rendered  st-able  or  con-stant,  by  the  prefix  st.    But 
what  is  the  final  -t  1    Nothing  but  the  formative  or  grammatic  function  of 
supin-ifying  (allow   the   word  to  pass  !)  or  tripping  up   of  the  running 
streak  or  streach,  into  the  grammatic  turtle  (tortoise,  L.  testudo)  yclept 
supinum,  and  participium,  gerundium.   In  other  words  the  living,  running 
verb  (through  modes,  tenses,  numbers,  persons)  is,  so  to  say,  thrown  on 
its  back,  and  ceases  to  run  as  a  verb ;  since  it  becomes  what  is  called  a 
noun.     YiQncQ  straight  is  a  participle  past  pf  the  two  verbs  sto  and  reg-o, 
soldered  together  (just  as  L.  volupt-as  =  volo -f- opto;  fatigo  =  facio  and    J 
ago,  and  great  many  others).     It  would  be  too  prolix  to  give  all  specialties    I 
of  this  so-called  adjective.     The  English  forms  from  it  the  so-called  verb  to    1 
straight-en,  and  hence  again  straighten-ed.    In  doing  this,  the  wordwright, 
or  the  wordwrights,  were  quite  callous  in  their  speech-faculty ;  inasmuch 
as  they  did  either  not  know,  or  not  care,  or  both,  that  to  is  a  superfluous 
preposition  to  indicate  the  infinitive  of  "  straighten"  by,  because  this  is  al-    _ 
ready  (or  also)  betol^ened  by  the  suffixed  -en,  which  is  the  sign  of  the  in-  1 
finitive  mode  in  German.    This  t,  or  softened  d,  is  of  the  same  import  in   1 
this  function  with  that  of  the  participles  past  (compare  tajugh-t,  left-t,  with 
love-d  and  with  spok-cTi,  and  L.  domi-t-or  with  domi-n-us  tam-er,  hence 
master;  L.  sa-t-us,  E,  so-n  ;  pla-n-us,  E.  pla-t,  pla-te,  fla-t).    A  proper  analy- 
sis of  straight,  in  all  its  natural  bearings,  throws  a  flood  of  light  on  the  fab- 
ric of  words.     Even  a  mole-eyed  scholar,  could,  if  he  dared  to  look  out  of  | 
his  subterranean  walks,  &,  la  G.  B.  (see  p.  150),  into  the  cheering  light  of   1 
realities, — lay  his  hands  on  (manifest-ly) — the  roots  of  our  language ;  with- 
out undertaking  the  journey  to  the  Indus,  Ganges,  Buramputre,  in  search  of 
Sanscrit  roots.    The  word  under  scalpel  wimmelt  (i.e.,  formicates;   we 
might  say  ants,  i.  e.,  stirs  about  full  of  life  like  ants,  as  the  Germans  have 
it)  with  significant  hints.    We  will  dispatch  it  by  merely  citing  (quoting) 
some  members  of  its  co-progeny:  Gr.  x^V?  bHnd(butan  inverted  reach-er), 
Slavic  ruk-a,  L.  rog-io,  rex,  rectus,  dirigo,  directus,  etc. ;  striiigo  (with  in- 
tercalated imniiation,  or  an      dra;  see  p.  77  and  cZ^v m^ ere ),  str ictus,  dis- 
trictus,  etc. ;  rigor,  frigus  and  fraiigo   (with  prefixed  f-,  E.  break,  branch, 
wrench,  wretch,  wreck,  wrest  and  others,  wherein  the  g  has  sunk  into  .s' ; 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  153 

see  p.  12'2.  on  t1ie  dentals  ;  and  Germ,  reiss-en,  to  tear ;  etc.)  ;  E.  rag,  rake, 
and  rich.  i.  c.  nuch-ing  far  by  means  of  money;  and  bishop-ric,  Germ. 
reich,  empire ;  E.  hay-riek,  mountain-ridge,  wherein  d  is  uselessly  interpo- 
lated, etc.  ;  Span.,  Ital.,  Portug- ,  French,  and  many  other  words,  which  are 
but  dialectic,  f.  i.,  rico,  ricco ;  recare  ;  droit,  dress-er  ;  roi,  rey  ;  and  great 
many  others.  We  forbear  to  speak  of  the  progeny  of  sto,  stiff,  sterile, 
stereotype,  stupid,  store,  etc.,  etc.  Were  all  words  counted  over,  we  should 
have  several  hundreds  of  them  paraded  about  in  the  capacity  of  all  i)arts 
of  speech,  and  as  so  many  new  M'ords. 

Light,  partic.  past  of  look,  L.  lux;  just  as  thought  is  from  think,  touch, 
L.  tango,  tact-um.  We  have  the  interjection  lu  1  i.  e,,  look,  voil^,  ecce  (i.  e., 
occe!  eye !   it). 

Shield,  G.  schild,  Swed.  skylt.  A  very  instructive  pattern  of  the  peculiar- 
ity of  some  formations.  It  is  both  compound  with,  and  related  to  L. 
ini  and  ex,  cel-o  and  caed-o ;  E.  hol-low,  hull,  coil;  ko7\os  ;  L.  coel-ura, 
clau-do,  K\€l-u) ;  E.  key ;  L.  gel-u,  gla-cies,  etc.  It  signifies  both  se-para- 
tion  and  en-closing.  L.  s-cut-um,  as  it  were  se-cut-ting.  Ex  is  itself  com- 
pound of  ec  -|-S;  i.  e.,  in -|- out,  from  in  outwards ;  Germ.  aus.  Cel-o,  con-ceal, 
i,  e.,  en-close  in  a  hull,  keel.  Taking  all  in  all,  the  word  means  both  cut- 
ting off  from  danger  and  hid-ing  at  the  same  time.  It  is  of  the  same  pedi- 
gree with  shed,  shoe,  etc.,  in  one  sense,  and  with  scissors,  share,  scythe, 
etc.,  in  another. 

JF'iMd  belongs,  as  participle,  to  flow,  L.  plu-o  ;  pla-n-us,  fla-t  (see,  under 
Straight,  the  co-significancy  of  ^,  d,  n).  A  field  is  a  plain,  over  which  water 
can  flood  or  flow.  Water,  considered  as  an  element,  in  the  sense  of  the 
ancients,  is  used  as  a  means  of  measuring  the  weight  of  things,  the 
height  of  the  land,  and,  by  its  more  or  less  caloric,  the  points  of  freezing 
and  of  boiling.  It  is  the  image  of  fulness,  because  it  flows  and  fills-  L. 
plen-us,  plus,  etc.  Again ;  p  or  /,  d,  as  labials  denote  horizontality ;  so  do 
the  Unguals  Z  and  r  mark  the  horizontality  (level)  that  is  perpendicular  to 
the  former.  Hence  pi,  pr.fl,fr,  U,  br,  vl,  mark,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  just 
those  phenomena  which  are  connected  in  nature,  viz. :  movement,  flow 
plenty,  flat-ness,  level,  etc. ;  the  combination  of  both  horizontal  directions 
i.  e.,  plain,  blunt,  blind,  bland,  blond,  etc.  It  will  sufiUce  to  throw  together 
such  words  of  several  languages,  as  denote  objects  with  one,  or  two,  or  sev- 
eral of  the  said  qualities;  fly,  volo,  will,  vellus,  fleece,  fail,  fallo,  folium 
leaf  (inverted),  free,  liber,  libella,  libro,  pratum,  prairy,  volvo,  pull,  pli-co, 
fol-d,  flam-ma,  fla-g,  fla-ke,  flo-g,  fla-il,  etc.  Inverted  they  mean  the  same 
phenomena. 

Club  is,  indeed,  a  club  among  words.  We  might  almost  say  that  it  is 
a  Herculean  club,  with  which  the  "  grammars  of  grammars"  might  be 
knocked  down  into  the  regions  of  the  flat  and  blind  things  of  the  preced- 
ing field.  It  is  this  very  fielA  (minus  its  participial  -d)  plus  the  c  which  is 
the  symbol  of  the  third  geometric  direction.  All  three  directions,  namely  the 
c  (symbol  of  verticality,  of— can  it  be  said  1 — zenith-nadir-ity)  -\-  lb  are  the 
very  picture,  nay  more  (for  painting  can  only  represent  bodies  or  volumes, 


154  GERMS   AND   BOOTS. 

on  a  plain  surface,  by  means  of  an  optic  deception),  the  gests  themselves, 
by  which  we  indicate  the  3  bodily  dimensions.  The  guttiir  is  N'citical,  the 
tongue  horizontal  in  one  direction,  while  the  li[)S  are  horizontal  in  the  con- 
trary direction.  Clb,  therefore,  and  crp,  pre,  brc,  blck,  blk,  plk,  flk,  frk,  glp^ 
grp,  grb  and  all  other  triads,  varied  according  to  the  table  on  page  75,  de- 
note what  we  call  corp-w^  in  L.,  volume  or  body.  This  group  is,  indeed,  the 
only  genuine  root  consisting  of  3  consonants.  As  root  it  is  simple  and 
agrees  with  the  Sanscrit  root  klrp  (which  contains  both  variants  of  the  lin- 
gual ;  Ir  being  a  peculiar  vowel  in  D6van^garf ;  see  p.  89).  signifying  to  be 
capacious,  to  attain,  to  effect,  to  beat  (club,  Germ,  klopf-en).  Yet  the  root 
itself  is  not  a  simple  thing,  but  a  compound  of  3  germs.  By  inserting  vow- 
els between  the  consonants,  we  obtain  thus  the  words :  Kapir-h^,  fruit,  from 
being  grab-bed  or  pluck-ed  ;  Kpvvr-ru,  to  hide  (in  agrav-e,  cryp-t) ;  L.  carp-o 
pluck  and  carv-e  (carp-enter  or  carv-er) ;  carpus,  wrist  (i,  e.,  base  of  the 
grab-ber  or  hand),  etc, ;  E.  grab,  grap-e,  grop-e.  groov-e,  and  creep,  crop, 
pluck,  bulk,  bulg-e,  block,  park,  grap-e,  group,  gulp,  gulph.  L.  porc-us,  corp- 
us, etc.,  rpa(^-&>,  whence  s-crib-o,  s-crap-e  (i.  e.,  ex-grab  or  take  out  bodily), 
and  y\v(l>-co,  whence  s-calp-o  (ex-club),  etc.,  G.  ver-grab-en,  hide  (in  grave)  ; 
Ferk-el,  pig,  E.  firk-in  (comp.  hogshead,  Dansk  oxhoofd  oxhead) ;  G.  ver- 
berg-en,  hide  (as  it  were  in  a  mountain) ;  klaub-en  gather  or  grab  up;  L. 
glob-us,  glom-us.  From  G.  klopf-en  we  get  Ital.  colp-o,  Fr.  coup  (where  I 
sank  to  ii);  hence  gallop,  i.  e.,  to  club  the  ground  with  a  club-foot  or  hoof; 
transposing  the  elements,  we  obtain  cabal-lus.  Ital.  caval-lo,  Fr.  cheval, 
horse ;  Slav,  kobil-a,  mare,  and  kop-ito,  hoof;  kop-ati  K6ir-T€iv,  cut,  kick, 
knock,  (though  without  a  lingual),  reminding  of  Virgil's 

"  Quadrupedante  putrem  sonitu  quatit  ungula  campura." 

Horse  is  also  called  sonipes  in  Latin. 

After,  comparative  degree  of  Anglo-Saxon  acfi.  which  is  already  a  parti- 
ciple past  of  ^/,  L.,  G.  ab;  hence  meaning  more  of-ed,  i.  e.,  put  off,  which  is 
but  a  sw^ollen  of;  all  denoting  movement  by  the  lip-sound ;  airh.  Froin  is 
of  the  same  kin,  i.  e.,  far  (lab.  and  lingual.  See  Field)  of  two  germs;  with 
the  ancient  mark  of  the  dative  plur.,  as  whil-om  seld-om,  etc.  Elastic 
minds  that  have  withstood  the  leaden  weight  of  school-theories,  may  de- 
velop further  analogies,  find  affinities,  try  to  account  for  the  variations  of 
the  sense  we  attach  to  words  in  their  various  forms,  dialects,  etc. 

Son  part,  past  of  to  sow,  i.  e.,  contract,  sown,  as  -ton  from  -town  ;  L.  sat- 
us,  for  Alius  ;  ser-o,  as  if  se-row,  whence  ser-ies.  Employing  the  form  of 
mathematic  proportion,  we  may  state  the  case  thus: 
son  :  seed  :  :  sem-en  :  sat-us. 
In  other  words:  son  and  seed  are  two  forms  of  the  participle,  just  as  semen 
and  satus.  Analogies  in  L.  are  lim-en  (threshold,  door-sill,  swelled  out  into 
limb-us,  rim)  and  lim-it-e  from  limes,  border,  boundary ;  gram-en  and 
grass,  whence  grown  and  green  (color  of  growings)  ;  germ-en  and  grad-us, 
etc.    Compare  with  the  preceding  examples. 

^weat,  L.  sud-or  =  se  or  ecs  +  fJS-»p  or  L.  ud-or.    Compare  wat-er,  wet ; 


I 


GERMS    AKD    ROOTS.  155 

ud'US,  und-a  (with  inserted  n),  Dansk.  vand,  Slav,  wod-a.  Water  itself 
from  germ  v  Gv.  fiai-vcc,  go;  wlience  L.  va-do,  ve-nio ;  Engl,  wa-ve,  wa-ver, 
and  L.  ven-tus,  wind  ;  K.  wend,  went;  L.  fene-st-ra,  wind-ow  or  op(ening) ; 
veil  lis,  etc.     See  below. 

Spin  and  spend  =  ecs-pan-do.  »S  out ;  pan,  o-pen,  related  to  L.  par-eo, 
a-per-io  ;  and  formative  -d.  The  lip-germ  p,  b,  /,  v,  m,  in  general  is  the 
token  of  move-ment,  life ;  as  such  co-significative  with  the  tongue-germ 
I,  r  (see  Field) ;  modified,  like  all  other  germs,  by  vowels  it  furnishes  the 
roots  pa,  pe,  pi,  po,  pu,  and  su  fa,  fe,  etc. ;  expanded  by  the  anusvara,  it 
gives  the  roots  pa7i,  pen,  pin,  etc. ;  allied  with  other  germs,  the  roots  pel, 
per,  pet,  peg,  etc.  Unleaded  brains,  undeafened  ears,  unstiffened  mouths! 
please  to  spin  out  further  developments :  be  spiders  of  the  psychic  pound 
given  you  by  God,  and  keep  it  not  laid  up  in  a  napkin  {St.  Luke  xix.  20). 
S-pi-d-er  =  ec5-pan-5-or. 

And  is  nothing  else  than  L.  ad,  E.  at,  to  ;  swelled  by  -n-  (as  had  swells 
into  hand,  i.  e..  the  limb  that  has  and  had,  whose  name  is  reach-er  in  Slavic 
and  Greek,  and  griper  in  other  languages).  L.  do,  give ;  Eng.  end,  finis, 
and  till,  tail,  reA-os;  and  our  thing  (see  above)  are  but  forms  of  one  germ. 
L.  addo,  is  an  amplification  of  it,  as  it  were  E.  at-|-to. 

In  short,  the  genuine  elements  (ali-m-ents ;  compare  L.  al-o,  nour- 
ish, feed,  and  ol-eo,  grow,  le-ngthen ;  whence  ol-d,  and  L.  al-tus,  high 
and  deep ;  all  that  is  1-iving ;  Magyar  el-ni,  live)  of  language  are  al- 
most as  easily  discoverable,  as  the  secret  of  dandy-gentlemanship 
might  have  been  by  the  planets  around  George  IV.,  if  they  had  had 
as  much  brain  as  they  had  brass.  Beau  Brummel's  aphoi-ism  "  a  ht- 
tle  starch  makes  the  gentleman,"  was  not  less  sublime,  in  its  line, 
than  a  similar  one  that  might  be  made  tor  the  legion  of  common 
grammarians.  Let  us  look  at  some  other  so-called  words,  taken  at 
random  also,  from  other  European  languages. 

Dindon  (French),  turkey.  Here  are  three  parts  as  congruent  as  the  dream 
of  the  poet  in  the  beginning  of  the  Ars  poetica  of  Horace.  De,  preposition- 
/nde,  India ;  and  -one  Ital.  termination  denoting  greatness,  or  augmenta- 
tion (f.  i.,  librone,  donnone,  big  book,  huge  woman;  Engl,  sal-oon,  bal-oon, 
etc.,  great  hall,  big  ball,  etc).  The  French  namely  call  a  turkey,  coq  d'lnde^ 
in  full.  Suppose  we  do  the  same  in  Engl.,  and  we  shall  have  Findoon,  i.  e. 
cock^///i«^ia  oon,  ofindoon,  ofindiabig !  This  poor  India  was  applied,  by  sheer 
ignorance,  to  the  continent  and  islands  of  America  (which  itself  comes  from 
Amerigo  Vespuzzi ;  which  again  means  a-p-^p-os,  in-part-,  i.  e  ,  without  parts 
or  unparted,  undivided,  with  the  terminations -ic- us).  The  bird  in  question 
obtained  its  name  from  it.  But  such  is  the  confusion  of  notions  and,  con- 
sequently, of  names,  that  this  same  Indie  (Slav,  for  turkey)  is  called  cale- 
cuttischer  Hahn  in  Germ.,  from  Calcutta  or  from  the  East  Indies  !  Indian 
corn  (zea  mafs),  on  the  contrary,  is  called  G.  tiirkischer  Weizen,  turkish 


156  0ERM8    AND    ROOTS. 

wheat.  All  this  in  consequonce  of  that  ignorance  which  made  of  the  north- 
western portion  of  Asia  another  quarter  of  the  world,  called  Europe.  By 
the  way,  the  name  of  world  is  taken  for  our  globe,  but  al>o  for  the  uni- 
verse, in  French  even  for  a  number  of  men  (du  monde) !  This  globe  of  ours 
is  divided  into  five  quarters,  as  a  whole  !  by  geographers.  Moreover  these 
quarters  are  unequal  among  themselves! — Beautiful  systems!  No  mere 
"  quid  pro  quo"-s,  or  "  nubes  pro  lunone,"  but  downright  nonsense. 

Fegalo,  Ital. ;  liver,  L.  hepar,  iecur.  The  word  originally  is  =figg-ed, 
i.  e.,  stuffed  with  figs.  How  can  figs  become  liver?  Thus:  Geese  were 
stuffed  with  figs,  in  order  to  be  fattened,  and,  as  obesity  (of  +  eat-ity)  is 
connected  with  the  growth  of  the  liver,  as  a  real  disease ;  the  name  of  the 
cause  of  the  swelling  of  the  organ,  which  presides  over  the  process  of 
digestion,  assimilation,  and  nutrition,  has  become  its  name  !  The  French 
say  foie,  which  resembles,  both  fol^  fides,  faith ;  and  /m,  vices,  time  (not 
as  tempus,  but  as  mark  of  counting), 

Bayonette,  from  the  city  of  Bayonne  ;  name  of  a  gun- spit. 

Cahal=C\\i\'ov&,  Arlington,  Buckingham,  Ashley  and  Lauderdale  (minis- 
ters of  Charles  II.) 

Commence,  Portug.  comez-ar,  from  L.  cum-[-in-j-it-  are  (with-|-in+go-|- 
L.  termination). 

What  L.,  E.,  Fr.,  It,,  Sp.,  etc.,  call  sol-stit-ium,  solstice,  i.  e.,  sun_|-stand- 
ing,  the  Germans  name  Sonnen-wend-e,  i.  e.,  sun  wend-ing,  or  winding, 
turning,  going ;  Gr.  rpo-Tr-aw  (-eco,  -603)  tur-n,  trip. 

Vert-QTQ  librum,  trans-Za/e  a  book,  iva-dui-VQ  un  livre,  ein  buch  uber- 
setz-GTi]  i.  e.,  to  put  a  book  from  one  into  another  language,  is  expressed 
by :  ward,  bear  (fer-o,  tul-i,  lat-um),  tug,  set  (putting  all  those  idioms  into 
E.)  ;  viz. :  "  invert,  transfer,  traduce,  overset  a  book." 

^         SANSCRIT    ROOTS. 

H.  H.  Wilson,  Professor  of  Sansc.  in  the  University  of  Oxford 
(who  had  published  a  dictionary  in  S.  and  Engl,  from  an  original 
compilation  by  learned  natives  for  the  College  of  Fort  William,  at, 
Calcutta,  2nd  edit.,  1832.  See  p.  117)  vspeaks  thus  in  his  introd.  to 
the  Grammar  of  the  Sansc.  language,  London,  1841,  p.  104. 

"  Tlie  Dhatu  or  *  radical'  of  the  S.  language,  although  in  strictness 
it  fulfils  no  specific  grammatical  function,  and  is  equally  the  theme  of 
a  noun  as  of  a  verb,  may  be  most  conveniently  considered  as  identi- 
cal with  the  latter,  as  the  crude  verb ;  in  which  condition  it  undergoes 
the  usual  modification  of  conjugation,  and  the  varieties  of  voice,  mood, 
and  tense.  As  arranged  in  the  Dhatu-pathas  or  *  glossaries  of  roots,' 
the  root  is  usually  interpreted  by  an  active  or  abstract  noun  in  tlie 
locative  case  ;  as  ansa-vihhdge,  '  in'  division ;  gam-gatau  '  in'  going  ; 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  I6*l 

hhu-satd-'ijdn,  ^ \n*  being;  dshnd-dzhndne,  ' m^  knowledge;  and  the 
like ;  intimating  one  general  and  comprehensive  idea  to  which  the 
different  modifications  expressed  by  its  derivatives  may  be  referred." 

"  All  the  roots,  with  a  few  doubtful  exceptions,  as  dndol,  swinging ; 
avadhir,  ascertaining ;  kumdl^  playing ;  gavesh^  seeking ;  are  mono- 
syllables :  many  of  them  are  iiniliteral,  as  e,  going ;  ri,  injunng  (see 
p.  89  peculiar  vowels) :  the  greater  number,  however,  terminate  in 
consonants,  as  tark^  discussion ;  gadzh^  sounding;  hhds^  shining ;  a.  s.  f. 
....  The  whole  number  is  about  1900. — In  the  original  lists  the 
roots  have  attached  to  them  certain  supernumerary  letters  or  Anu- 
bandhas,  which  have  one  of  two  objects ;  1,  some  of  them  denote  the 
class  or  conjugation  in  which  the  verb  is  inflected ;  2,  others  intimate 
those  pecuharities  to  which  each  single  verb  is  subject  in  its  inflec- 
tions .  .  . ." 

The  S.  roots  have  been  arranged  with  the  greatest  care  by  Kas- 
INATHA,  under  the  title  of  "  Root-sounds,"  edit,  by  Wilkins,  Lond., 
1815,  with  Engl,  explanations ;  Vopadeva,  under  the  title  of  "  Bodies 
of  Elements,"  edit,  by  Carey,  as  appendix  of  his  Grammar,  Seram- 
pore,  1806,  and  by  other  natives.  Fred.  Rosen  published  his  Radi- 
ces Sanscritse,  Berol.,  1827  ;  N.  L.  Westergaard,  etc.,  both  as  a 
Corpus ;  Franc.  Bopp  and  othei-s,  in  glossaries. 

Rosen  gives  2354  roots,  of  which  1636  are  counted  once,  and 
718  twice  or  several  times  with  different  significations.* 

Fr.  Bopp  (Grammat.  linguae  Sanscr. ;  edit,  2d  Berol.,  1832),  in 
treating  of  roots  and  prefixes,  makes  the  following  statements,  of 
which  we  here  give  a  synopsis.  The  roots  are  not  found  in  the  lan- 
guage itself  (i.  e.,  in  the  words  as  employed  in  speech),  but  they  are 
deduced  (as  he  says  "  eruuntur,"  i.  e.,  roo-ted  out,  by  ru-ining  or  de- 
composing the  words)  fi'ora  the  deri\atives,  wherein  they  are  contain- 
ed as  a  common  stem  (sti-rp-s,  st-alk,  st-ock,  st-amen,  st-aple).  Some 
abstract  substantives  are  naked  roots,  f.  i.,  yudh^  fig^it;  kshudli^  hun- 
ger ;  mud^  joy ;  hhl^  fear,  etc.,  from  roots  of  the  infinitives  of  verbs. 


*  There  are  in  all  languages  such  words  which  under  one  and  the  same 
form  signify  such  tilings  as  have  no  connexion  whatever  between  them- 
selves. Thus  the  German  kostcn,  to  taste,  and  k(),<tc/i,  to  cost.  Klopstock, 
called  them  wimmelndc  Warier,  i.  e.,  full  of  life  (see  p.  152).  The  former 
Kosten  is  but  a  modification  of  Lat.  giist-are.  while  the  latter  is  compound 
of  L.  con-st-are. 


158  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

Moreover,  according  to  Indian  grammarians,  each  root  can  be  used  as 
the  latter  part  of  compound  words,  as  in  L.  carni/ec-s,  iuhi-cen,  prae- 
sid-e,  etc.,  f.  i.,  Sanscrit,  dharma-vio? ;  L.  ius-vid-ens,  one  who  knows 
right  and  duty.  But  few  roots  are  used  in  such  compounds.  The 
grammarians  could  scarcely  have  deduced  the  true  form  and  notion 
of  roots  from  them.  Had  they  done  so,  they  would  not  have  pro- 
posed roots  ending  with  a  short  vowel ;  since  to  the  final  short  vowel 
of  such  compounds  they  always  add  a-t,  f.  i.,  dzHt,  he  who  conquers ; 
stut,  he  who  praises.  The  Indian  grammarians  do  not  consider  those 
as  roots,  but  dz't,  stu,  without  -L  Hence  they  made  an  analysis,  by 
throwing  away  from  the  stem  or  kernel  eveiy  thing  that  belongs  to 
grammatic  functions,  or  to  the  shaping  of  words.  These  primitive 
syllables  are  improperly  called  verbal ;  for  they  might  be  called  wom- 
inal^  with  the  same  right.  Both,  verbs  and  nouns,  are  derived  from 
such  primitives  or  roots  ;  f.  i.,  gat^  who  went  (go-ed,  i.  e.,  go-ne  ;  see 
above,  under  son^  p.  154)  ;  ganium^  to  go;  gam,  who  goes ;  are  not 
derived  from  gats' ts'hdm%  I  go  (==  goeth-me),  but  all  are  taken  from 
the  general  root  gam.  Some  roots  contain  as  much  as  4  consonants, 
f.  i.,  mraks\  to  enoint ;  syand,  to  drip ;  skant^,  to  move.  Most  roots, 
however,  can  be  referred  to  three  groups,  viz.,  1,  Such  as  begin  with 
1  or  2  consonants  and  end  with  a  vowel,  as :  da,  L.  da-re ;  gd,  to  go ; 
ni,  to  draw,  L.  ne-re,  to  spin  ;  hhu,  to  be,  L.  fu-i;  kri,  to  make,  L. 
cre-are,  E.  gro-w ;  tri,  to  go  over,  L.  tra-ns-ire  ;  dhe,  to  drink  ;  gai,  L. 
ca-nere,  to  sing ;  sd,  tp  destroy,  L.  se,  de  ;  sthd,  to  sta-nd ;  sru,  to  flow. 
(There  are  no  roots  ending  with  short  -a  or  with  -au,  though  Carey 
speaks  of  the  former  kind.)  2.  Such  as  begin  with  a  vowel,  and  ter- 
minate with  1  or  2  consonants,  as :  ad,  to  eat ;  dp,  to  obtain ;  is,  to 
rule ;  arts\  to  honor.  3.  Such  as  begin  and  end  with  one  consonant, 
as :  pat,  to  fall,  compare  L.  ped-e,  and  E.  pit ;  bhld,  to  split,  L.  find- 
ere ;  svap,  to  sleep,  L.  sop-or,  bhaksh,  to  eat 

Of  the  polysyllabic  root^,  some  contain  a  preposition,  thus,  san- 
gram  to  fight,  has  the  preposition  sam  L.  cum ;  avadhir,  to  scorn,  has 
the  prep,  ava,  to,  of,  etc.  In  others  there  is  reduplication,  f.  i.,  ts^akds, 
to  shine,  is  nothing  else  than  the  root  kds  of  the  same  import  (we 
might  as  well  say  that  people  is  a  root ;  whereas  it  is  nothing  else  but 
L.  pl-us,  TToA-v?,  full ;  swelled  out  by  the  reduplication  of  i)o-  into  }X)- 
pul-us,  the  many,  the  fol-ks.  Germ,  volk) ;  dz'dgrl  to  wake,  from  gri, 
c-y€tp-o) ;  etc.     Or  there  is  an  intensive  prefix,  f.  i.,  daridrd,  to  be 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  150 

poor  (where  there  is  but  repetition,  as  if  wo.  \vr>re  to  say,  in  Engl, 
dreadreary,  Anglo-Saxon  dreorig,  G.  trauriL^,  ^>a<l,  «lried  up)  ;  ts^ulump, 
to  vanish,  probably  from  lup,  to  be  disturbed,  to  split :  a  peculiar, 
because  dissimilar,  reduplication. 

It  would  be  going  too  far,  if  we  were  to  give  more  of  the  theory 
of  the  Indian  and  German  grammatists.  The  examples  drawn  from 
the  current  theones  of  our  own  schoolmasters,  lexicographers  and 
other  philologists,  together  with  the  few  Indian  roots  just  given,  may 
be  sufficient  to  convince  any  one  who  does  not  allow  his  mind  to  be 
dazzled  by  what  is  commonly  called  learning, — that  it  is  not  at  all 
consonant  with  the  signification  which  chemists  and  mathematicians 
attach  to  the  word  element,  to  rely  altogether  on  any  of  those  theo- 
ries. Learning  is  often  but  a  chaotic  mass  of  inert  matter,  which 
overwhelms  common  sense,  instead  of  being  subjected  to  it.  Gen.  i. 
2  :  "  And  the  earth  was  without  form,  and  void  :  and  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the 
face  of  the  waters."  26  :  "  And  God  said.  Let  us  make  man  in  our 
image,  after  our  hkeness  ....  28  :  And  God  .  .  .  said  .  .  .  subdue  it 

(the  earth) " 

There  is  nothing  accidental  and  arbitrary  in  creation,  unless  it  be 
error.  We  have  more  in  us,  than  we  are  taught  to  possess.  Water 
has  been  known,  since  time  immemorial,  to  be  convertible  into  ex- 
panding vapor ;  all  that  we  see  has  been  known  to  be  mirrored  in 
our  eye  ;  the  might  and  swiftness  of  lightning  have  been  felt  by  man 
since  he  exists :  yet  the  application  of  steam,  of  sunlight  and  of  electri- 
city has  been  made  on  a  proper  scale,  as  late  as  the  present  century, 
Why  ?  Because  men  overlook  that  which  is  nearest  to  them,  strain- 
ing themselves,  in  a  sort  of  sickly  manner,  to  find  knowledge  and 
happiness  far  and  beyond,  and  out  of  themselves.  Could  God  be 
somewhere  more  present  than  everywhere  else,  he  w^ould  be  so  in  us. 
JEst  Deus  in  nobis  !  Our  soul  is  his  image,  not  our  body.  The  lat- 
ter is  a  corp-us  a  grab-  or  grip-  able,  lazy,  leadlike  matter :  whereas 
the  spirit  is  spread-ing,  sprout-ing,  go-ing,  gas-like,  a  ghost  (Germ, 
geist,  self-acting),  gush-ing.  God's  highest  manifestation,  as  far  as  it 
can  be  felt  by  us,  is  in  our  spirit,  especially  in  our  mental  faculties. 
But  our  schools  build  around  it  a  whole  city  of  what  they  call  systems, 
theories,  sciences,  and  the  like,  mostly  in  such  a  w^ay  that  our  mind 
becomes,  as  it  were,  encaged  within  them.     We  cannot  see  God's 


160  GERMS    AND   ROOTS. 

sky.     We  sec  ugly  buildings  instead.     By  trees  we  are  prevented 
from  seeing  the  forest ;  as  we  cry  into  it,  so  it  echoes. 


Cor,  the  hear-t,  is  the  ker-ncl,  the  cor-e,  or  the  cen-tral  org-an  of 
the  animal,  as  well  as  of  the  vegetable  bodies.  It  is  the  gr-ain,  cor-n, 
from  which,  as  from  the  "punctum  saliens,"  all  organism  begins. 
Modern  scholars,  instead  of  being  satisfied  with  this, — certainly  not 
accidental, — a-gree-ment  of  both,  the  ori-gin-al  meaning  and  the 
identity  of  the  guttural  sound  of  these  words,  expressive  of  the  prin- 
cip-al  and  be-gin-ning  phenomena  of  life  and  body ; — instead  of  hold- 
ing them  alongside  of  such  words  as  cre-o  and  cre-sco,  I  gr-ow ;  ci-eo, 
I  cause  to  go  or  to  come  ;  ci-to,  quick ;  gra-dior,  I  step  forth ;  gra-ndis, 
gr-eat,  etc.  (see  p.  153  Club), — resort  to  the  Sanscrit  root  kri^  ag-ere,  fac- 
ere  and  other  words  denoting  "  to  do  and  to  cau-se  to  be  done."  After 
having  found  this,  they  flap  their  wings  on  a  heap  of  learning  and 
they  cr-ow  with  great  gl-ee  and  gl-adness  the  agree-able  news !  In 
their  so  doing,  they  might  be  likened  to  the  "  animali  parlanti"  of  the 
Arabs  (p.  143).  Here  is  the  "nee  plus  ultra,"  the  extreme  Thule  of 
Sanscrit  scholai*ship ! 

Ger-men  is  one  of  the  sprouts  of  the  connected  germs  g  and  r,  the 
most  expressive  of  all  so-called  roots  ;  the  symbol  of  the  essential  and 
of  the  phenomenal  elements,  i.  e.,  of  the  causal  and  effectual-moving 
sounds.  We  find  this  combination  in  circ-ulus,  where  c  is  recurnng  in- 
to itself,  just  as  the  circumference  of  the  most  perfect  geometric  figure. 

It  is  for  this  reason,  and  on  account  of  many  minor  considerations, 
that,  not  being  satisfied  with  Sanscrit  or  any  other  roots,  we  ought  to 
base  language  on  the  theory  of  Germs.  Roots  are  already  either 
compounds  or  results  of  germs.  The  very  word  Rad-ix  proves  this 
view ;  it  being  compound  of  rad  (identic  with  rad-ius,  which  itself 
again  is  already  a  participle  of  the  r  ;  a  shell  of  the  rect-us,  after  the  c 
had  been  eaten  out  of  it ;  see  above  Straight)  or  root  and  of  ic-s,  ig-o, 
ag-o.  Element  nnd  (Jerm  must  coincide  in  meaning;  for  both  el- 
and ger-  are  but  a  sort  of  synonyms,  owing  to  the  use  that  is  made  of 
them  in  the  forests  (Span,  flor-esta,  oiiginally  that  which  flowers, 
blooms)  of  constructed  speech. 

But  why  do  the  Sansc.  roots  signify  what  they  do  signify  ?     Do 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  161 

Latin,  or  Teutic,  or  Slavic,  or  Celtic,  or  Chinese,  or  Shemitic,  or  Mon- 
golic,  and  other  roots  (provided  they  be  properly  deduced)  signi- 
fy less?  Kot  at  all.  All  true  roots,  if  they  be  natuial,  must  be 
identic.  Mankind  has  essentially  the  same  reason,  and  the  same 
organs  of  speech  and  of  external  sense. 

One  man  has  two  eyes.  Two  sexes  ]>i'o<luco  a  tliir<l  being.  Three 
is  the  limit  of  organic  essence.  Every  tiling  Ix  yond  is  variation,  mod- 
ification, diversity.  Three  lines  constitute,  by  their  connexion  if  in- 
clined (i.  e.,  tending  in  three  directions),  the  trigon.  Trigonometiy  is 
the  basis  of  mensuration.  Three  colors  (red,  yellow,  blue)  are  the 
stamina  of  the  white  or  whole  ray  of  light.  The  science  of  nature 
bears  witness  to  this  Triunity.  Why  should  God  have  given  us  no 
more  than  three  sluices  in  our  organs  of  speech,  to  intercept  and  to 
modify  the  voice  with,  if  they  w^ere  not  just  sufficient?  There  is  no 
appeal  from  an  eternal  law  ! 

Let  us  return  to  the  page  69  and  75.  One  body  of  letters — 
representing  sounds ! — consists  of  two  divisions,  viz.,  of  vocals  and 
articulated  sounds.  Both  united  produce  a  syllable.  There  are  3 
principal  vowels  and  three  groups  of  articulations.  Between  both 
there  is  a  sort  of  lake,  as  if  the  Alphabet  were  a  galvanic  battery. 
The  horizontal  relations  of  the  elements  have  been  shortly  explained 
on  the  pages  Y6,  79.  Further  auxiliary  lights  may  be  gathered,  in 
the  succinct  history  of  writing  (from  p.  79  to  the  end  of  Ch.  III). 

We  observe  three  categories  in  our  ideas  and  in  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  yet  so  that  they  are  also  bifid,  viz. : 

L  1)  Cause,  In ; 

IL       Effect,  out^  which  is  again  either 

2)  "        moving,  living,  or 

3)  "        standing,  dead,  dormant. 

There  are  three  groups  of  sounds  corresponding  to  these  categories. 

L  1)  GuTTURals,  symbols  of  cau-se,  ge-t,  gai-n,  ha-ve,  cor  (see 
p.  160),  etc. 

IL  2)  LAB-ials,  symbols  of  move-mcnt,  hf-e,  ru-n,  flo-w,  etc. 

3)  DENT-als,  symbols  of  death,  st-and,  -dor-mant,  sad,  etc. 
Gutturality,  labiahty  and  dentality  (the  latter  two  being  filtered 
through,  as  it  were,  by  the  semi-vocal  liquids,  and  the  last  being  al- 
loyed, so  to  say,  with  hnguality,  as  if  to  show  that  there  is  no  abso- 
lute death  in  nature)  are  the  three  string-s, — the  Prime  (or  basso  or 
8* 


162  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

ground-note),  the  Third  (or  mediante)  and  the  Fifth  (or  dominante), — 
upon  which  the  voice  performs  language.  The  higher  or  lower,  the 
harder  or  softer,  the  more  or  less  sounding,  individual  articulations  are 
only  as  many  modifications  of  an  essential  one,  just  as  the  octaves  in 
music,  or  as  different  keys  of  the  same  theme,  or  as  variations  of  the 
same  motive,  or  as  tlie  forte  or  piano — in  music.  A  perfect  coinci- 
dence with  either  the  phenomena  of  color,  or  of  figure,  or  of  musical 
sounds,  is  out  of  the  question,  for  the  very  simple  reason,  that  while 
there  is  an  essential  agreement  at  the  centre  of  all  created  things, 
there  is  more  and  more  variety  and  divergence,  the  gi-eater  the  dis- 
tance, either  in  quantity  or  quality,  either  in  space  or  time,  etc.,  of 
one  substance  or  of  one  phenomenon  from  the  other.  Were  it  other- 
wise, the  univei-se  would  be  but  one  point,  in  the  mathematic  accep- 
tation of  this  word. 

To  do  justice  to  the  subject  in  speech,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
expand  it  into  minute  particulars.  But  this  would  require,  at  least, 
twice  the  number  of  pages,  to  which  this  treatise  will  be  extended. 
Alas !  The  liberality  of  our  age  is  so  illustiious,  as  to  be  quite  pel- 
lucid, almost  imperceptible.  All  chairs,  pulpits,  stumps  are  in  exclu- 
sive possession  of  "  popular"  oratoi-s  (both  mouthei-s  and  beggars). 
Every  thing  that  cannot  be  paraded  about  as  edible,  or  comfortable,  or 
gaudy,  or  funny,  or  otherwise  attractive  to  the  seekers  of  *  nine-days' 
wonders,  is  branded  as  "  unpractical."  The  newest-born  civilized  na- 
tion delights  more  ii|  fulsome  flattery  than  in  stern  deep  truth.  Its 
longitudinal  growth,  varied  by  occasional  ephemeral  eruptions,  canies  it 
along  the  current  of  time,  without  allowing  it  any  for  reflection  on  its 
own  tendency,  or  for  historic  rumination.  The  country  is  too  narrow, 
too  poor,  too  busy,  as  to  be  in  danger  of  falling  in  love  with  mere  cor- 
rectness of  views  on  the  very  pnnciples  of  its  intellectual,  moral  and 
aesthetic  existence.  No  matter,  even  if  such  views  concern  the  very 
Palladium  of  society,  education.  No  matter  if  they  affect  the  essence 
of  the  very  Anglo-Saxonism  :  it  is  enough  to  flaunt  this  about  against 
the  distant  Kosak,  and  over  the  very  worm  that  gnaws  at  its  very  core. 
Never  mind !  The  banner  with  the  inscription  of  "  Progress,"  floats 
on  the  fleets  of  newspapers,  over  an  ocean  of  printer's  ink.  Quantity 
not  quality  is  the  motto.  Were  this  otherwise,  a  complete  system  of 
natural  Germs,  of  Roots,  stems,  in  short,  an  Encyclopnpdia  of  treatises 
on  Language,  in  general,  and  on  the  most  important  languages  iu 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  163 

particular,  could  be  published.  As  things  now  stand,  and  before  the 
present  essay  shall  liave  performed  the  office  of  a  feeler  of  the  literary 
and  poedagogic  pulse  of  the  public,  no  more  ample  display  can  be 
made  of  the  fertile  relations  that  are  dormant  within  our  poor  Alphabet. 
So  great  is  the  want  of  reflexion  upon  what  is  nearest  to  us,  that 
even  such  writei*s  as  H.  J.  Chavee  (Lexiologie  Indo-Europeenne,  on 
essai  sur  la  science  des  mots  Sanskrits,  Gr.  Lat.  Fran^.  Lithvan.  Russ. 
Allem.  Angl.,  etc.  Pans,  1849),  who  has  toiled  12  years  on  his  book, 
constantly  gazing  at  the  sublime  Sanscrit,  and  at  its  Devanagarl,  call 
the  Phoenico-European  alphabet  "  le'  moins  rational,"  believing  to  see 
"un  desordre  ordinaiie  dans  I'alphabet  Greco-Latin,  consacre  par 
I'usage."  Notwithstanding  his  extravagant  admiration  of  the  Indian 
system  of  writing  and  of  roots,  on  the  one  hand,  and  his  contempt  of 
the  treasures  included  in  our  languages  and  in  our  method  of  writing, 
on  the  other,  Chavee  has  done  a  great  deal  towards  a  just  apprecia- 
tion of  the  principles  of  language.  Had  he  relied  more  on  what  is 
our  own,  his  merit  would  be  greater. 

The  alphabet,  as  aiTanged  by  the  author,  without  the  least  transpo- 
sition, but  also  without  the  unconscientious  and  Proci*ustes-like  ill- 
treatment  it  receives  at  the  hands  of  every  body,  is  a  living  organic  be- 
ing in  the  most  proper  and  most  strict  acceptation  of  these  terms.  It 
is  irk-ing,  w-ork-ing  org-anic,  by  the  perfect  and  complete  connexion 
of  all  its  parts  among  themselves,  by  their,  and  because  of  their,  mutual 
influence  and  dependence.  It  is  genetic,  hai-monic ;  whether  we  ex- 
amine the  relations  of  any  and  every  one  of  its  fibres  to  all  others,  or 
.  whether  we  regard  the  organs  of  our  mouth  that  utter  each  of  them, 
or  look  at  the  position  in  the  series  of  letters,  or  consider  the  way  in 
which  their  sounds  aflfect  the  ear.  The  alphabet  is  not  an  arbitrary, 
dead  heap  of  hooks,  crooks  and  dots,  thrown  together  at  random,  as 
the  atoms  of  Democritus,  wliile  concurring  to  glomerate  the  world. 
Could  it  speak,  it  would  cry  out  with  the  Scotch  thistle  "  Nemo  me 
impune  lacessetP^     (See  pp.  13,  18,  19,  59,  etc.) 

Were  the  duties  of  the  alphabet  confined  to  a  mere  expression  or 
imitation  of  sounds,  instead  of  its  being  destined  to  portray  in  a  com- 
plex manner  the  phenomena  of  sound,  of  figure,  of  color,  of  position, 
of  quantity,  and  of  all  properties  and  relations  of  things,  as  they  strike 
our  mind,  in  a  harmonious  manner  ;  we  would  have  a  right  to  expect 
that  tlie  order  of  its  elements  should  coincide  with  the  Devanagarl, 


164  GERM8    AND    ROOTS. 

that  is,  that  they  should  he  classified  just  in  the  order  in  which  the 
voice  proceeds  from  the  throat,  through  the  mouth,  (p.  89).  But  we 
see  the  gutturals  in  the  middle  column,  preceded  by  the  labials  and 
followed  by  the  linguai-dentals,  thus  preclaiming  their  aristocracy  and 
satisfying  all  demands  of  reason  and  not  of  mere  sound.  The  vital 
organs  of  living  bodies  also  occupy  the  centre.  Let  us  now  proceed, 
as  much  as  our'narrow  limits  permit  of  it,  to  a  succinct  and  symbolic 
exegesis  of  the  sounds,  letters,  germs  ;  for,  these  elements  are  all  these 
with  I'egard  to  the  intercomjoenetration  of  their  function. 

Man  is  the  top  of  the  pyrairrid  of  all  terrestrial  creatures.  His 
brain  even  ranges  beyond  the  limits  of  our  small  globe.  Man  as  the 
measure  (mens-ura,  and  met-ior ;  pp.  23, 151)  of  all  things,  dares  even 
to  trespass  over  the  boundary  of  his  powers.  Man  is  a  microcosm, 
whose  corporeal  parts  and  dynamic  properties  are  in  perfect  kee{)ing 
with  the  macrocosm  or  the  great  world.  It  has  been  repeatedly  said 
that  our  brain  (^pyjv,  cj^pov-io) ;  compare  </>pev-€s,  8ta-<^/3ay/x-a,  as  it 
were  di-frac-tion ;  hence  that  \yhieh  separates  things  or  dis-cri-minates) 
is  tuned  on  the  same  key  with  the  external  world,  with  our  own  self, 
especially  with  our  organs  of  speech  (p.  23). 

The  stalk  or  stem  of  our  organs  of  speech  is  the  wind-pipe  (07). 
Its  upper  part  is  the  thalamus  (0aX-ea),  S^dX-Xo),  vireo,  pullulo,  floreo ; 
compare  sol-us,  ser-o,  sal-io),  bed  or  base  from  which  the  pistil,  as  well 
as  the  stamina  of  the  flower  of  speech  issue.  The  Guttur  (p.  68, 
Tapyap-eCjv^  gurgul-io ;  Germ.  Gurgel,  Fr.  gosier ;  L.  gula.  Germ,  kehle ; 
L.  collum,  Germ,  hals,  etc.)  proclaims  its  own  name.'^*  Its  quantitative 
and  qualitative  properties  agree  with  the  words  whose  original  and 
essential  germ  is  produced  by  its  agency.  We  must,  therefore,  apply 
Chilon's  precept  (p.  12)  by  studying  ourselves,  and  in  our  present 
position,  especially  endeavor  to  "  know  our  own  organs  of  speech^ 
Their  knowledge  will  become  a  key  to  unlock  the  mysteries  of  lan- 
guage with ;  without  our  becoming  absent  in  mind,  as  we  might 
while  running  out  to  bag  the  rays  of  the  sun  of  speech,  on  the  Nile, 
Jordan,  Ganges,  Tiber,  etc.     The  Guttur  is  the  first  sluice  (L.  claus- 


*  Throat  is  but  a  collateral  word,  a  contraction  from  tliroii^ht.  There  are 
many  such  would-be-synonyms  in  all  tho  langnag:L's,  f.  i..  lire  and  ignite  ; 
watery  and  aquatic;  calf  and  veal;  i)ork,  pig.  hog;  sign,  mark,  token,  etc. 
They  agree  more  or  less  in  their  significance,  by  use  ;  but  they  spring  ifrom 
dificrent  germs. 


GKRMS    AND    HOOTS.  165 

trum,  Fr.  6cluse,  Germ,  schleus-se),  through  which  the  speechbearing 
voice  passes.  It  is  the  hindmost,  internal,  hidden,  vertical,  most  com- 
plicated, most  compact  (but  not  stony  as  the  teeth)  of  the  organs  of 
speech.  It  communicates  both  with  the  mouth  or  lower  passage,  and 
with  the  nose  or  upper  passage  (p.  70,  1 19,  N)  of  the  voice ;  it  is  near- 
est to  the  heart  and  brain ;  most  important  to  life,  situated  at  the 
break  of  the  current  of  the  voice  from  the  vertical  into  the  horizontal 
direction  ;  a.  s.  f.  On  account  of  all  these,  the  sounds  made  in  and 
by  the  throat,  signify  legitimately,  naturally,  the  phenomena  and  the 
denkbelden  or  ideas  that  are  analogous  to  this  organ.  It  is  impossible 
to  display  the  whole  of  this  concordance  here.  The  reader  must  dare 
to  be  wise,  he  must  spin  out  our  hints  with  elastic,  yet  steady  mind. 
Perpetual  chewing  on  our  pait  would  furnish  him  pleasant  pulpy 
baby-pap,  without  strengthening  the  digestive  power  of  his  brain. 

Here  we  would  remind  him  that  the  decomposition  of  words 
into  their  simple  parts  often  eludes  the  most  w-atchful  sagacity.  Yet 
with  a  proper  appreciation  of  the  writing  (only  spelling),  and  with, 
the  meaning,  without  a  divorce  between  them,  the  task  becomes 
much  easier.  It  will  not  do  to  pay  attention  to  the  sound  alone, 
as  many  etymologists  have  done  and  are  yet  wont  to  do.  One- 
sidedness  leads  to  mere  punning,  which  is  so  far  from  wit  or  hu- 
mor, as  a  circus-clown  is  from  Jean  Paul  Riditer.  Such  insipid 
sound-games  have  been  collected  in  "  Un  million  de  calemboure, 
charges,  lazzis,  bons  mots,  quohbets,"  etc.  Pans,  1851.  Here  one: 
L.  n.  n.  e.  o.  p.  y  ;  1.  i.  a.  e.  1. 1.  v  ;  ....  e.  1.  i.  e.  d.  c.  d.  a.  g.  Mis- 
naming the  lettei's  a  la  francaise,  it  reads :  Helene  est  nee  au  pays 
grec  ;  elle  y  a  ete  elevee  ;  ....  elle  y  est  decedee  dgee.  Some  bibli- 
omaniacs prize  very  highly  a  certain  edition  of  a  Latin  lexicon,  mere- 
ly because  the  word  concurro  is  interpreted  by  condog,  instead  of 
concur f 

The  reader  is  further  requested  to  deal  fairly  in  his  judgment, 
concerning  what  might  not  seem  to  him  to  be  reasonable  on  a  super- 
ficial perusal  of  this  book.  Burke  (on  the  Sublime  and  Beautiful) 
says :  "  A  theory  founded  on  experiment  and  not  assumed,  is  always 
good  for  so  much  as  it  explains.  Our  inability  to  push  it  indefinitely 
is  no  aro:ument  at  all  ai^ainst  it."  To  this  the  author  bec^s  leave  to 
add  Seneca's  (de  Ira,  1.  II.,  c.  13)  "Sanabilibus  aegrotamus  malis; 
ipsaque  nos  in  rectum  natura  genitos,  si  emendari  velimus,  iuvat" 


166  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

Giitturality  of  the  sounds  betokens,  in  consequence  of  the  sym- 
bolic analogy  between  the  categories  of  the  ideas  and  the  phenome- 
na of  things,  lus  follows :  that  which  is  first,  vertical,  connected,  inter- 
nal, secret,  compact,  causative,  essential,  central,  creative,  selfacting, 
cutting,  interrogative,  careful,  guarded,  closed,  hollow,  hard,  angular, 
circular,  collective,  piercing,  etc.,  in  short,  guttur-like.  How  is  this 
, possible  ?  Simply  because  the  essential,  central,  original  meaning  of 
the  woi'ds,  or  rather  of  their  germs,  or,  if  you  please  of  their  roots, — 
is  linked  by  a  common  red  thread  which  runs  through  all  of  them. 
Just  so  all  characteristics  of  the  throat  are  similarly  co-ordinated  and 
corelated  among  themselves. 

To  render  this  apocalyptic  phraseology  less  perplexing  to  those 
minds  which  look  more  at  the  centrifugal  than  at  the  centripetal  ten- 
dencies of  things,  we  invite  the  reader  to  examine  all  bearings  of  an 
angle :  although  it  be  but  a  geometric  being,  and,  therefore,  far  from 
a  logic,  anatomic  and  physiologic  coincidence  with  the  guttur.  An 
angle  is  produced  by  the  concurrence  of  two  hues ;  as  such  it  is  a  sym- 
bol of  connexion,  of  inclination,  of  enclosure,  hence  of  hiding.  If 
the  lines  be  produced  beyond  the  point  of  their  contact,  they  cut 
each  other  :  this  is  a  symbol  of  cutting,  killing  (i.  e.,  stopping  each 
other  at  that  point,  or  determining  a  position).  Consider  the  outside 
(if  we  may  say  so)  of  an  angle,  that  is,  where  the  hues  do  not  incline 
to  each  other,  and  you  have  a-cuteness,  sharpness,  etc.  As  long  as  two 
lines  are  parallel,  they  never  meet,  hence  they  never  can  even  approach 
the  formation  of  a  figure  (fix) :  hence  the  fii-st  step  to  a  formation  is 
just  the  angle.  Thus  it  becomes  a  symbol,  a  germ,  of  what  we  call 
organic.  A  third  line  meeting  or  cutting  the  sides  of  an  angle,  be- 
gets a  triangle,  which  is  the  simplest  figure.     Sapienti  pausa ! 

Let  us  now  give  a  few  of  tlie  hosl  of  words,  wheiTin  the  theory 
is  exemplified  ;  Kat,  ^vv,  cyy-vs,  yov-v,  ydyy-09  (Reader,  please  to  cut 
away  all  secondary  parts  of  the  words),  yoyyt'Xo?,  yo/x<^o9,  ytvaxTKo), 
yX(ji);(tr,  yvaTrro),  ytyyXv/xos,  yXac^o),  yXr<;^(0,  yXovTO^,  yXto^o?,  yivofxai, 
ayKvXrjf  ayKOiV,  ayKvpa,  ayKXos,  aKOvrj,  Ka/xTrrw,  KaXvTrrcD,  kolktos,  Ka- 
tiaSas,  KCLLVOi,  KaivoSy  KapKtvoSy  kolttto),  Krjdeiayy  KevSw^  Kcap,  Acapa,  kc^- 
aX-^,  Kcrreo),  kcvoo),  Kparos,  Kv^cpvata,  ayo),  oLy^o}^  Kcpas,  Kcpa/xos,  kvotls, 
fojTos,  KvpcD,  KVTTTUiy  KttXttt,  KaXco),  ctc. ;  Lat.  t  cum,  -que,  ac,  cieo,  cedo,  au- 
geo,  iugo,  iuxta,  angulus,  uncus,  ungula,  angustus,  anxius,  acer,  acutus, 
coedo,  cudo,  celer,  celo,  gelo,  culter,  cuneus,  conus,  genu,  gig-no,  g-nas- 


GKK.MS     AXn     HOOTS.  167 

cor,  g-nomen,  g-numerus,  civis,  cubo,  clavus,  claudo,  clam,  glacies,  cos, 
cuspis,  career,  cireulus,  capio,  gena,  ciirvus,  vacuus,  cavus,  euro,  cere- 
brum, caput,  crinis,  cubus,  credo,  cubitus,  gallus,  calor,  cerno,  censeo, 
comu,  cutis,  centrum,  qnsero,  carus,  quis,  causa,  classis,  etc. ;  Engl. : 
ankle,  knee,  chin,  gnaw,  knife,  high,  neck,  corner,  know,  kick,  clock, 
call,  gale,  cry,  kind,  s-queeze,  horn,  give,  keep,  hide,  key,  grow,  group 
(see  Club,  p.  153),  cut,  keel,  coil,  keen,  have,  hollow,  hall,  cabinet, 
cove,  cab,  to-ge-ther,  ga-ther,  etc.  Germ,  particle  ge-,  employed  to 
form  collective  words,  f.  i.,  gebirge,  chain  of  mountains ;  ge-wasser, 
watei-s,  etc.,  and  the  preterit  tense,  and  participle  past,  thus :  ge- 
sehen,  seen ;  ge-dacht,  thought,  etc.,  consolidating  or  fixing,  as  it 
were,  the  running  verb  (see  p.  152,  Straight),  etc. 

We  must  again  interrupt  the  tenor  of  our  disquisition,  whose  sub- 
ject is  so  dovetailed.  Please  to  keep  in  mind  the  fii-st  4  lines  of  p. 
22.  It  is  easy  to  totter  about  on  a  broad  road,  without  falling;  it  is 
easy  for  a  common  cart  to  run  hither  and  thither :  but  neither  is  al- 
lowed to  a  wagon  or  car  on  a  rail-road.  Novices  are  apt  to  become 
giddy  on  so  narrow  a  line,  as  that  which  is  here  offered  to  their  mind. 
Others  may  think  that  a  cumulation  of  examples,  taken  from  other 
languages,  would  strengthen  the  truth  of  our  propositions,  just  as  an 
induction  is  strengthened  in  the  direct  ratio  of  the  sum  of  its  single 
members.  Some,  and  probably  the  greatest  number  of  the  readere, 
are  in  both  predicaments  at  once.  The  former  must  be  cheered  on, 
by  being  directed  to  look  at  the  aim,  without  looking  down  into  the 
abyss  of  languages  below  their  mind's  eye,  lest  they  fall :  the  latter 
may  rely  on  the  assertion,  that  the  examples  taken  from  other  lan- 
guages do  not  directly  swell  the  material  of  an  inductive  ai'gument! 
Why  not  ?  Because  most  words  of  the  different  languages — rather, 
dialects,  are  but  variations :  so  that,  unless  they  be  such  as  are  not 
used  in  other  idioms,  they  are  of  no  great  service  in  the  present  stage 
of  our  inquiry. 

One  more  remark  is  yet  needed.  As  the  signification  of  the  or- 
ganic germ  is  plainly  perceptible  only  in  simple  roots,  f.  i.,  in  Kai,  -que^ 
ac,  and  as  it  is  modified  by  the  presence  of  other  germs,  f.  i.,  in  creo^ 
clamo^  catena.,  in  E.  together.,  etc.,  which  are  more  or  less  complex, 
even  compound  (as  catena  =  con 4-ten-eo,  fi*om  which  we  have  the 
word  chain,  and  as  to-ge-ther), — the  student  ought  to  be  cautious  in 
coming  to  a  conclusion,  before  having  inured  himself  to  the  analytic 


168  GERMS     AND    ROOTS. 

process.  The  hands  of  a  chemist  or  of  an  artist  must  acquire  both, 
dexterity  and  spots  or  callosities,  before  he  can  glibly  perform  his  task. 

The  Lips  (p.  08.  L.  lalj-ia,  Lib-ra ;  Fr.  levres ;  Germ,  lippen) 
name  themselves.  All  that  hits  been  said  on  the  power  and  function 
of  symbolism,  when  speaking  of  the  throat,  is  to  be  undei'stood  of  the 
lips  and  of  all  the  other  several  organs  of  speech.  The  lips  are  the 
last  sluice  that  intercepts  the  voice.  They  are  in  front  of  the  face, 
external,  visible,  horizontal,  two,  not  complicated  as  much  as  the 
throat,  soft,  pulpy,  palpitating.  They  close  the  lower  passage  of  the 
voice,  especially  and  mostly  when  sounding  M.  In  uttering  this 
sound  the  voice  is  pressed  back  through  the  nose ;  hence  its  aflSnity 
with  N  (p.  119).  We  may  lose  the  hps  without  being  killed;  in 
other  words,  they  might  fall  off  as  leaves  do  from  the  trees ;  they 
might  leave  us.  Hence  labiality  is,  if  we  are  permitted  to  continue 
our  botanic  allegory  (p.  164) — analogous  to  the  involucre  or  the  calyx, 
and  to  the  corolla  of  flowers. 

They  betoken  the  following  phenomena  and  things :  the  second- 
ary or  tertiary,  the  level  or  horizontal,  the  broad,  wide,  parallel,  mov- 
ing, visible,  effected,  mealy,  superficial,  palpable,  meeting,  mounting, 
both  multum  and  minus,  measure,  middle,  falling,  flowing,  fluttering, 
flattening,  flame,  blood,  etc.,  in  short,  things  that  are  liplike.  Please 
to  study  all  physic  and  logic  bearings  of  parallel  lines,  but  not  with 
the  simple  view  of  their  never  meeting.  Consider,  rather,  that,  in 
order  to  measure,  w^  must  apply  paralelly  a  known  unit  of  measure 
to  the  thing  to  be  measured.  If  so,  both  things  meet,  as  the  lips  do. 
These  are  in  the  middle  of  our  face ;  in  pouting  (or  putting  them  out) 
we  show  a  mound  with  our  mouth.  But  a  mound  is  magnitude 
whose  essence  it  is  to  be  also,  in  its  opposite  or  polar  direction, — so  to 
say, — minitude.  When  the  mouth  is  closed  with  the  lips,  a  myste- 
rious kind  of  mugitus  (internal  bellowing)  is  heard,,the  significance  of 
which  is  synsymbolic  with  guttural  secrecy  on  the  one  hand,  and  witli 
nasality,  on  the  other.  Hence  a  co-ordination  of  meaning  ;  hence  the 
root  me(;  or  ma(/-  whence  magnus,  might,  a.  s.  f. 

Now  some  samples  of  words,  wherein  the  theoiy  is  verified : 
jSafSd^y  Pdyfxaf  /3dSos,  jSd^o),  fSatvo},  ySaXXo),  jSa/x^atVo),  ^(XTrro),  /Sap- 
jSapoS)  Pdpo^,  /SSdXXwf  /?to9,  pXatcroSy  /3od(x),  ^owos,  ^VKdvrj^  (Svu),  etc. 
/xata,  /xtt^a,  /xaSo?,  /xa/x/xa,  /xa^ao/xat,  jLLdir^Xr],  /xtt(rTtf,  fieXL,  /xcAco?, 
fxiXSix),  fjiivo),  fxeTOL,  /utccros,  (xeTpeiOf  etc.,  Trcttw,  iraXdfJirjy  TraXcvo),  7raXX7j(, 


(JKIl.MS     AND    ROOTS.  169 

7rdXX.(D,  Trapa,  Trdo'X'^f  Trareo),  Tret^o),  Trepl,  Trvmai,  TrtVo),  TrXao-cro),  TrXa- 
Tvs,  etc.,  </)atW  c^e'po),  etc.  Lat.  venio,  vado,  bibo,  liuo,  pluo,  plas  (see 
above  Field),  vivo,  moveo,  fallo,  peto,  meo,  fleo,  liber,  aperio,  pateo,  pa- 
reo,  fero,  volo,  volvo,  mollis,  E.  flock,  fleet,  bolt,  be,  fall,  fail,  liver, 
flirt,  etc.  Modified  by  the  guttural  in  flog,  flail,  flake,  flag,  etc.,  fur- 
ther in  fool,  foul,  filth,  film,  for,  fare,  Germ,  particle  be-  denoting  ap- 
plication of  one  thing  to  another,  as  in  Engl.,  f.  i.,  besprinkle,  besmear, 
etc.,  with  this  difference,  that  it  is  of  much  more  frequent  use  than  in 
English. 

The  labials,  as  symbols  of  motion,  very  frequently  associate  with 
the  Unguals,  which  are  also  moving  sounds.  Both  together  indicate 
surface,  thus  :  flat,  planus ;  broad,  board  ;  and  what  is  not  sharp,  as : 
blunt,  blind,  blond,  bland,  Fr.  blase  ;  Slavic  blazen.  Germ,  blode, 
imbecile ;  so  blur,  blot. 

Some  words  containing  a  labial  and  lingual,  in  either  direction, 
are  not  to  be  derived  from  roots,  namely  from  closely  adhering  germs : 
seeing  that  they  are  rather  compounds.  Such  a  one  is  the  last-men- 
tioned hlot^  which  is  more  exactly  analyzed  into  the  particle  be  and 
lot  (from  lot-US,  laut-us  or  lavat-us,  whence  litera  :  see  p.  60). 

LiNGUALS  (p.  21,  Cerebrals^  p.  89)  are  twin-brothers  to  Dentals, 
as  iixx  as  their  production  is  concerned  :  whereas  they  are  most  oppos- 
ed to  each  other  by  their  vitality  (p.  68).  Extremes  meet  not  only 
here,  but  also  when  gutturals  dwindle  into  I,  j,  y  and  U,  v  w  (Fr. 
po^trine  from  L.  pectore ;  Germ,  dei^ten,  L.  in-dicat-um ;  Portug. 
dowtor,  L.  doctor ;  E.  w<d\\  tve,  went,  war,  wsird,  and  yard  Avith  ^ood, 
e-^o,  ^on-ed,  ^^^uerre,  ^ard-en,  etc.,  p.  75). 

Lingua  Gr.  Zunge  (kindred  with  Aeyw,  loquor,  Xrjyw,  allay,  with 
L.  lec-tus,  locus,  lig-num,  E.  log .  Xiyyoi,  strideo ;  with  lingo,  Act^o), 
hiinbo ;  Engl,  link,  and  lick,  L.  lig-o ;  with  longus,  hnea,  latus ;  and 
with  liquo,  lacus,  lac,  laqueus;  see  p.  152,  Reach)  louds  forth,  if  we 
speak  with  Germans  (p.  66),  or  lauds,  in  a  Latin  garb,  its  own  being 
and  doing's,  so  as  the  other  organs  also  do  for  themselves.  And,  in- 
deed, how  could  it  be  better  otherwise  ?  How  would  it  be,  if,  when 
we  wish  to  indicate  by  gestures  the  notion  of  flowing,  we  were  to 
point  at  stones?  See  p.  132,  what  Socrates  is  made  to  say  by  Plato. 
The  intelligence  of  animals  may  be  tested  on  this  principle.  If  you 
point  at  something  distant,  dogs  look  at  it  more  often  than  cats  do,  which 
commonly  stare  at  your  finger.     To  excite  in  other  men  the  notion  of 


1*70  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

something  to  be  guarded  and  cherished  like  our  heart,  we  gutturize ; 
to  indicate  wind,  wool,  wood,  water,  or  any  other  moving  object,  we 
lap  with  our  lips  ;  to  denote  fleeting,  fleehke,  free,  Hvely  butter  (flut- 
ter) -flies  on  a  level  prairie,  we  combine  labials  with  linguals ;  when 
speaking  about  steady,  stanng,  stiff",  dead,  still,  stony,  stereotypes,  or 
about  dim,  dull,  dreary,  dark,  dense,  starving,  indurated,  enduring  ob- 
jects, we  make  a  din  at  our  teeth. 

We  are  strange  beings.  We,  in  whom  harmony  is  not  a  mere 
fact,  but  a  faculty  also  of  perceiving  harmony  out  of  us ;  we  wonder 
that  there  is  order  in  creation  !  Is  this  not  in  contradiction  with  our 
being  ?  Whence  does  it  arise  ?  Is  it  not  inculcated  by  false  teach- 
ing, or  rather  by  a  complete  lack  of  genuine  godlike  teaching  in  the 
thousands  of  schools,  and  in  the  millions  of  nui-series  ?  The  blasphe- 
mous admiration  of  God,  as  showing  some  order  in  the  world,  is 
stereotyped  into  worship.  It  would  be  awful,  if  there  were  no  order 
in  all  things  not  yet  perverted  by  man.  We  award  diplomas  of  clev- 
erness to  the  Supreme  Cause,  for  having  succeeded  in  satisfying  our 
critical  acumen,  our  taste,  our  moral  conception !  Yet  we  are  shocked 
at  being  told  that  there  is  harmony  in  our  speech,  we  who  have 
spoiled  the  inheritance  handed  down  to  us  since  thousands  of  years 
by  generations  whom  we  pity  as  having  been  benighted.  We  con- 
found hearing  with  sight,  vowels  with  diphthongs,  the  simple  with  the 
compound — what  is  woi'st — in  that  very  tool,  by  which  w^e  pretend 
and  expect  to  enlighten  our  minds,  to  purify  our  morals,  to  chasten 
our  taste.  O !  for  a'n  Oedipus  to  unravel  the  riddle  of  this  sphinx  of 
our  education  !  It  would  seem  almost,  as  if  our  throat  had  been 
changed  into  teeth  (p.  41,  bottom  of  122). 

Dentes,  teeth,  G.  zahne  (p.  68,  6S6vt€s)  are  thirty -two  se-parated, 
set,  stony,  standing  steles,  hedging  in  the  most  lively  organ  from 
which  speech  takes  its  name  in  all  languages,  the  tongue,  which  is 
rooted  at  (/  and  edged  all  around  its  limb  by  t  All  that  is  sterile, 
stale,  tight,  severed,  stable,  tedious,  devoid  of  motion  or  life,  is  sym- 
bolized by  dental  sounds.  They  also  demonstrate  (see  p.  151,  Thing, 
That,  152  Straight)  things  to  be  seen;  hence  the  names  of  day,  sun, 
and  the  so-called  pronouns  and  numerals  of  the  second  and  third  per- 
sons, some  adverbs,  as :  crv,  tu,  thou,  du  ;  8i;a),  duo,  two,  zwey  ;  is,  iste, 
this,  there  ;  rpta^  tria,  three,  drey,  etc.  The  horizontal  dimension  per- 
pendicular to  that  of  the  lips,  is  represented  by  the  tongue  (see  above 


*  GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  iW 

Club),  when  less  pressed  to  the  teeth :  although  extension  be  typified 
by  the  very  fertile  root  duc-o,  spoken  of  above. 

By  this  time  the  reader,  if  his  attention  has  not  yet  become  den- 
tified  by  our  jargon,  may  begin  to  feel  the  diift  of  this  dissertation,  and 
he  may,  therefore,  be  left  to  himself  to  find  examples  and  vouchers 
for  what  is  advanced. 

Enough  has  been  said  of  NAS-ality  (rhinismus,  pp.  76,  77,  and  119, 
120)  as  phonetic,  so  that  it  need  to  be  noticed  here  but  in  its  sym- 
bolic or  lexigenetic  (wordkindling)  capacity.  The  nose,  in  comparison 
with  the  other  organs  of  speech,  is  of  much  less  importance ;  hence  the 
sound  issuing  through  it  is  the  germ  of  no  or  ne  (f.  i.,  niger,  nox,  ne- 
go,  etc.,  words  denying  what  is  concerned),  a  so-called  adverb.  In 
exility  of  meaning  it  is  somewhat  analogous  to  the  dentahty,  which  is 
another  kind  of  negation,  but  by  se-vering,  dis-joining  what  is  hnk-ed 
or  com-plex  or  meet-ing.  Both  germs  unite  into  the  name  of  nas-MSj 
nos-e,  and  by  invei'sion  into  the  words :  sn-oui  sn-eeze,  snore,  snort, 
sneer,  snicker,  snot,  snivel,  to  snite,  snaff*,  sniff*,  snuffle  (flare),  snaffle, 
snarl,  snug,  snudge,  snap,  snib,  snuffj  snook,  etc.,  denoting  either 
things  concerning  the  nose,  or  withdrawn  from  openness  (evading  ob- 
servation), as  sneak,  snail,  snare,  snake,  snuggle  ;  or  imitating  sneezing, 
as  snap,  etc.  As  things  are  connected  in  nature,  so  are  also  words  in 
language.  R  often  alternates  with  5,  n  with  m,  the  aspirated  conso- 
nants 5,  h,  /,  V  among  themselves :  hence  we  have  plv,  nose ;  L.  som- 
nus,  sleep ;  Hebr.  anaf,  breathe  through  the  nostrils  (nose  +  thyrl  or 
drill).     See  Wallis  (p.  17). 

Essence  (or  what  is  nec-ess-ary  to  any  thing,  "  sine  quo  res  nec- 
esse  potest")  and  Accidence  (or  what  falls  to,  "  id  quod  rei  ad-cad-it" 
==  at-get-s),  as  well  as  Substance  (or  on  which  a  thing  stands,  "  id  quod 
rei  sub-stat")  and  Modality  (or  the  meas-ure  or  mould,  mode)  must 
be  distinguished  in  all  things.  Words  and  language  cannot  be  ex- 
cepted. When  we  speak  of  germs,  we  mean  the  essential,  substantial 
simple  elements,  whether  of  the  roots  or  of  the  w^ords.  These 
elements,  though  imbued  with  absolute,  organic  significance,  have 
been  differently  used  or  abused  by  wordwrights  (p.  136;  usage 
p.  137;  manner  of  conceiving,  p.  138).  Now-a-days  they  are  almost 
completely  macerated,  emaciated,  mactated,  mashed  and  smiished  into 
a  mush,  alias  chaos,  by  the  professional  promoters  of  progress  (pp.  13, 
33,  34,  119  and  elsewhere).     With  their  leave,  we  beg  the  student 


172 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 


to  distinguish  the  following  four  predicaments  of  the  sounds  and  let 
ters,  they  meet  with  in  words  : 

1.  The  lofjic^  or  in  other  words,  essential,  substantial,  natural,  root- 
forming  germs,  taken  in  their  primitive  simple  physic  or  organic 
sense ; 

2.  The  fframmatic,  or,  rather  wordirking  germs  which,  though 
not  distinct  as  to  their  genetic  meaning  from  the  preceding,  have  been 
employed  to  indicate  the  relations  and  to  frame  the  shapes  of  the 
grammatic  accidents  (cases,  numbei*s,  pei*sons,  moods,  degrees  of  com- 
parison, augmentatives,  diminutives),  as  well  as  of  the  so-called  de- 
rivative and  composite  words ; 

3.  The  euphonic  (although  in  many  cases  cacophonic)  trappings 
of  words; 

7.  The  erroneous  parts  whose  existence  is  owing  either  to  pure, 
modest  ignorance,  or  to  scholastic  presumption  (2d  parao-raph  of  p. 

iiv); 

5.  The  superjluous,  or  parasitic  appendages;  the  peiiwig-s  and 
cues  of  words. 

For  the  sake  of  brevity,  the  above  ciphers  mark  the  respective 
parts  in  the  following  words  given  in  illustration  of  what  has  just 
been  said. 

In'^-cul^-c^-ate^ .  Cul,  Engl,  hul  (root  cl) ;  c  intensive,  or,  rather,  aug- 
mentative to  cul  in  the  word  calx,  heel,  similarly  to  E.  hulk.  It  forms  the 
compound  in-heel,  stamp  in  with  the  heels.  So  far  all  is  right  and  just. 
But  the  English  worrfwrights  have  been  far  from  right  in  their  fashion  (or 
rite)  of  adorning  in  their  writing  (vulgo  spelling)  that  very  significant  word 
with  the  cue  -ate.  The  English  language  is  extolled  as  consisting  of  short 
words,  when  compared  with  Lat,  Can  this  boast  stand  an  appeal  before 
the  tribunal  of  glossology  1  Not  at  all.  The  simple  words  of  all  languages 
are  equally  short :  there  is  no  difference  between  the  germs  and  roots  of 
languages.  When  we  say  that  this  or  that  word  is  Sanscrit,  or  Arabic,  or 
Slavic  or  English,  etc.,  we  are  right  only  as  far  as  the  word  is  taken  with- 
out a  genuine  analysis :  all  words  of  the  different  languages  differing  only 
in  accidental  modifications  or  forms.  Many  of  these  forms  are  absurd, 
when  held  alongside  of  corresponding  ones,  either  in  the  same  or,  more  fre- 
quently, in  some  other  language.  In  the  present  case, — if  the  English  were 
more  independent  in  using  what  is  both  right  and  what  would  be  intelligi- 
ble almost  at  first  sight  or  hearing — ,  the  word  "//a7  7/i''  might  ho  very  proper- 
ly and  elegantly  enii)loyed  instead  of  inculcate.  Do  the  Ital.  French,  etc  , 
use  inculcat-are,  inculquet-er,  or  do  they  use  inciilc-are,  inculqu-er  1  The  . 
latter.    Pray,  why  could  the  English  not  do  the  same  1    If  they  can  say, 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  l73 

without  any  clanger  of  confusion:  "  I  examine,  we  have  examined  :"  could 
they  not  also  say:  "I  inculic;  we  have  inculked'?"  We  hear  millions  of 
(morally  and  intellectually)  timid  voices, — for  their  owners  may  be  ani- 
mally  very  bold, — exclaim  :  "  Horror !  Barbarism  ! — "  Pray,  not  so  fast! — 
Why  horror  1  Is  the  sound  horrible  1  Why  do  you  not  "  skulk"  away  from 
the  sound  of  "  skulk-ing'?" — Why  was  the  sound  not  horrible  to  the  tiner- 
eared  Romans  7   Why  is  it  not  so  to  the  Italians  1  You  say  sulky,  bulky,  etc. 

The  English  ear  has  not  very  much  right  to  be  squeamish,  while  it  feels 
no  cacophony  in  "  thafhet/i''  (for  rather),  as  courtier-dandies  affect  to  utter 
words  containing  r; — while  it  feels  no  shock  at  the  squashing,  crashing, 
degenerated  sounds  of  the  modern  book-language,*  Byron  errs,  however, 
in  characterizing  the  English  language  as  '•  guttural,"  'seeing  that  many  of 
its  \vords  written  legitimately  with  gutturals  have  become  carious  (p.  41, 
122  bottom).  His  complaint,  therefore,  would  be  even  greater,  had  he  no- 
ticed this  disease  of  the  language,  which  I.  Pitman  strives  to  render  per- 
manent (not  content  to  preserve  monstres  &-  la  Geoffroy  St.  Hilaire,  as  path- 
ologic specimens),  by  making  it  one  of  his  rules ! 

If  the  nations  that  speak  English,  have  truly  a  feeling  for  the  concise- 
ness of  their  language,  and  if,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  disposed  to  be 
just,  they  ought  not  uselessly  lengthen  words  taken  from  other  languages, 
against  the  very  genius  of  their  own,  and  then,  reproach  those  languages 
with  sins  they  are  not  guilty  of!  As  the  modern  English  is  constituted, 
w^e  are  not  quite  correct  to  indulge  in  great  praises  of  its  brevity.  If  the 
assertion  of  M.  Harrison  (the  rise,  etc.,  Engl,  language,  Oxford — Phila- 
delphia, 1850)  and  of  many  others  on  this  topic,  were  subjected  to  an  im- 
I)artial  examination,  the  146  Latin  syllables,  f.  i.,  found  in  single  words  ex- 
pressed by  63  English  monosyllables,  would  melt  to  quite  a  different  ratio. 
Many  of  these  so-called  monosyllables  are  so  only  in  consequence  of  the 
common  hallucination,  which  confounds  ear  with  eye,  simple  with  com- 
pound, etc.  :  they  are  in  reality  monosyllables  in  pronunciation,  and  not  in 
writing.  Voltaire's  silly  remark  that  "  the  English  gain  two  hours  a  day 
by  clipping  words"  is  just  so  much  worth  as  that  mentioned  on  p.  1.32,  or  as 
his  vain-glory,  that  his  own  cleverly  distorted  historicf  essays  read  better 
than  those  of  conscientious  and  critic  writers.  Did  the  English  use  their 
language  as  they  ought,  all  those  praises  would  be  just.  But  no  European 
nation  hangs  so  many  useless  rags  on  Latin  words,  diphthongizes  so  many 


*  Byron,  so  Anglo-Saxon  in  his  style,  says: 

"  I  love  the  language  that  soft  bastard  Latin, 
Which  melts  like  kisses  in  a  female  mouth. 
And  sounds  as  if  it  should  be  writ  on  satin, 
With  syllables  that  breathe  of  the  sweet  south, 
And  gentle  liquids  gliding  all  so  pat  in. 
Tliat  not  a  single  accent  seems  uncouth. 
Like  our  harsh,  whistling,  grunting  guttural. 
Which  we're  obliged  to  hiss,  and  spit  and  sputter  all," 


174  GERMS    AND   ROOTS. 

vowels  and  perverts  so  many  gutturals  and  dentals  into  as  many  ear-wigs, 
as  the  English.  There  is,  moreover,  a  legion  of  inconsistencies  in  the 
words  belonging  to  the  class  we  are  just  speaking  of.  We  have  examine, 
provoke,  concede,  judge  (a  graphic  monster  1  or.  perhaps  a  syncope  of  judic- 
are.7),  pervert,  confer,  etc.,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  use  contamina-<e,  pro- 
l)aga.-te,  celebra-^<?,  transla-/<?,  concoc-^  predic-/,  etc.,  and,  as  far  as  writing 
is  concerned,  we  have  :  recede  alongside  of  proceed,  etc.  In  the  former  dis- 
crepancy, the  verbs  ending  in  -te  or  t  are  already  participles.  They  ought 
to  have  been  appropriated  to  the  English  idiom  under  their  genuine  Latin 
form,  which  agrees  in  essentials  with  the  Anglo-Saxon.  It  would  certainly 
sound  and  look  better  and  be  more  reasonable  to  say  :  you  have  contamined, 
propagued,  celebred,  concoked,  prediked,  in  place  of  the  present  concocted, 
propagated.  Do^we  not  say :  linked,  cooked,  conferred,  etc.  1  Would  it  be 
right  to  write  thus  :  they  had  ihoughted,  convidrsated,  exa.m\naied,  s\)okened, 
judgealed,  jumpeden,  etc.  ?  In  employing  the  lengthened  unwieldy  forms, 
without  being  aware  of  the  significance  of  the  participial  germs  t,  d,  n  (p. 
152,  Straight),  we  act  just  as  a  man  would  do,  who,  when  walking  out 
into  the  street,  should  put  his  night-cap  or  a  hat  on  the  hat  which  already 
covers  his  head. 

Poei^-ic^-al^,  philosoph-ic-al,  and  all  so-called  adjectives  ending  similarly, 
are  another  badge  of  periwigged  hats,  symptoms  of  callous  speech-sense. 
Ic,  of  the  same  germ  with  Gr.,  Lat,,  etc.,  ag-o,  E.  g-et ;  used  in  Gr.  and  L. 
adjectives,  witness :  iroiriT-iK-h?,  am-ic-us,  etc. ;  G.  macht-i^,  freundl-icA 
and  degenerated  into  -isck,  as  in  kind-isch  ;  E.  -ish,  -ch  and  degenerated  -y, 
as :  English,  French,  mighty,  instead  of  Englic,  Francic,  mightig  (p.  73), 
etc.  It  signifies  "  acting,  behaving  as,  looking  like,"  a  poet,  friend,  might, 
Engl.,  Frank.  Is  this  not  enough  to  make  an  adjective  from  a  substantive  1 
Our  practice  says  No,  and  makes  the  words  adjectiv<?r  with  a  vengeance. 
Al,  is  only  another  formative,  used  in  Latin,  not  in  Greek!  It  comes  from 
the  germ  I  and  belongs  to  1-ike,  and  to  al-ius,  sim-il-is.  Verily  this  sort  of 
words  are  signs  of  our  appreciation  of  Anglo-  Saxon  genius,  of  common 
sense,  of  learning,  of  good  taste,  of  sound  logic  !  Horace  would  say,  "^gri 
somnia,"  and  "  Spectatum  admissi.  risum  teneatis  amici"  (de  arte  poet). 

The  AU'-coran,  the  al^-cove;  Monte- GlbelW^,  Ital.  (.^tna) amount  to  "'The 
The-coran,  the  the-cove,  mount-mountain ;  Arab,  book;  cave ;  gable,  Germ, 
hab-el,  hill. 

Chamber,  humble,  dissemble,  fiearifx^pla  {fJL€ar-\-  vixfpa,  mid  -{-  day),  L.c?7i/>- 
^w-771,  bought;  su7nplnvi,  taken;  and  cinder,  tender ;  aj/5p€ia,  manhood,  vig- 
or ;  and  many  other  words  in  most  languages,  furnish  us  with  examples  of 
euphonic  letters  (3).  The  simple  forms  of  them  are  :  camera,  humilis,  dis- 
simulo,  mes6  hemera,  emtus,  sumtus,  ciner-e,  tener,  ancria  from  an^r. 
Throwing  out  the  vowels  from  between  the  liquids,  we  obtain  the  forms  : 
cam'ra,  hum'lis,  dissim'lo,  h6m'ra,  cin'r-e,  ten'r,  an'ria;  and  dropping 
the  p  from  the  L.  words,  we  get  the  originals  emtum,  sumtum.  In 
the  former  case  there  arises  a  what  the  grammarians  call  hiatus  or  gaj>, 
in  the  pronunciation :  since  two  consecutive  liquids  cannot  be  elegantly  and 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.         v  1Y5 

easily  pronounced  ;  although  the  hiatus  be  less  disagreeable  than  where 
such  vowels  concur  as  do  not  coalt  see  into  a  diphthong.  To  render, 
therefore,  the  utterance  both  agreeable  and  easy  in  these  sort  of  words,  as 
well  as  in  the  case  of  emtum,  where  the  Romans  felt  the  transition  from 
the  sonant  m  to  the  surd  t  to  be  uneasy,  the  b  was  inserted  in  the  first  set 
of  words  by  the  Greeks  and  French,  the  p  by  the  Latins  in  the  second  set, 
and  the  dhy  the  Gr.  and  Fr.  in  the  last.  But  although  the  English  cor- 
rectly write  humble,  dissemble,  mesembrianthema  (a  family  of  the  succu- 
lent plants,  called  also  ficoideae),  exemption,  assumption  and  Andrew,  in 
keeping  with  their  prototypes ;  they  bungle  in  chamber,  cinder,  tender. 
This  inconsistency  is  found  in  all  words  of  similar  structure.  The  French 
are  in  keeping  with  the  euphonic  law  in  question  in  their  chambre,  cendres, 
tendre,  and  in  all  similar  cases,  f  i.,  in  je  viendrai,  tiendrai,  etc.,  from  L. 
venire,  tenere  :  whereas  the  English  keep  the  respective  letters  even  after 
they  had  transposed  the  termination  -re  into  er,  that  is,  after  the  cause  of 
the  intercalation  of  b,  d  had  ceased  to  exist.  In  this  they  resemble  the 
patients  who  feel  pain  in  the  limbs  which  they  had  lost  by  amputation,  or  the 
Chinese  who  imitate  even  the  faults  of  the  objects  they  counterfeit.  Thus 
instead  of  euphony  we  have  simply  something  funny,  and  which  belongs 
under  the  numbers  4  and  5.  After  m  the  euphonic  sound  is  b  or  p,  the  lat- 
ter before  the  tenues  (c,  f)  ;  but  after  n  it  is  d :  owing  to  the  affinity  of  their 
nature  (p.  75).  In  general,  the  most  frequent  euphonic  expedient  is  the  n 
(anusv^-ra,  nunnation,  rhinismus)  which  causes  words  and  even  roots  to 
swell,  f.  i.,  frang-o,  fregi,  frac-tum;  branch,  break;  wring,  wrench,  wrangle 
and  wreck,  wriggle ;  spring,  sprig ;  tango,  tetigi,  tactum,  touch,  etc. 

As,  however,  the  conception  of  what  is  beautiful  is  very  relative 
among  men,  some  nations  prefer  certain  sounds  to  othei-s,  which  to 
some  other  nations  appear  far  from  graceful.  The  Germans,  f.  i.,  put 
/  after  jp,  saying  PfefFer,  Pferd,  Pfingsten,  Pfarre,  Pflicht,  etc.,  where 
others  have  p,  h :  piper,  pepper ;  Holl.  pard,  horse  (fared) ;  pente- 
cost ;  parochus  or  parson,  o-bligat-io,  blowing  not  unlike  angry  cats. 

A  critic  analysis  of  words  brings  out  all  their  hygienic  (healthy,  normal) 
phenomena  and  their  anomalous  (unsound,  abnormal)  symptoms.  Thus 
Pfiicht  consists  of  5  parts,  viz. :  of  ;?,  a  hardened  relic  of  the  preposition 
ob  ;  /,  a  germanifying  sound  ;  lie,  the  hardened  root  lig-o,  bind,  join ;  k  an- 
other germanificator ;  and  the  supinifying  (p.  152).  Obligatio  lost  its  latin- 
ifying  vocals :  o,  a,  io.  In  Engl,  we  have  plight,  but  also  pledged  a  sick  sub- 
ject with  a  smashed  guttural  which  is  bandaged  by  a  d,  to  show  that  we 
ought  to  pronounce  dz'  (as  in  jar).  The  beauty,  however,  is  yet  greater  by 
the  modesty  of  the  healthy  g  in  plight,  which  dares  not  utter  itself,  although 
it  have  a  stay  and  a  prompter  in  h  which  itself  is  also  mute,  whereas  it  per- 
forms its  duty  by  starching  the  flabby  g  in  gherkin,  to  its  native  stififness 
(p.  122).    In  a  genetic  direction  the  b  or  p  adds  to  lig  its  corporifying  germ 


176  ,  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

(see  Club  p.  158).  Tlie  same  group  is  also  generated  by  L.  plic-o,  ply,  wherein 
pi,  answering  to  i)lus,  full  and  fol-d,  is  increased  by  ag-o;  to  which  plect-o, 
also  belongs.  Again,  if  we  conceive  an  I  to  be  inserted  into  pact-um,  E. 
peg,  we  also  obtain  plaga.  a  variety  of  flag-ello,  flog,  flail.  In  short,  near- 
ness of  phenomenal  categories  corresponds  with  nearness  of  ideas  and  of 
sounds. 

The  French  use  t  with  the  3d  pers.  sing,  of  verbs,  very  reasonably, 
seeing  that  it  commonly  forms  the  termination  of  that  person,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  concurring  of  vowels,  thus :  A-t-il  dit  ?  Between 
que,  si  and  on,  they  insert  Z,  thus :  si  V  on  y  pense.  Before  feminine 
nouns  commencing  with  vowels  or  so-called  h  muet  (p.  122)  they  use 
the  possessive  so-called  pronouns  ma,  ta,  sa  in  a  Bloomer-dress,  f.  i., 
mon  ecole.  In  other  cases  they  employ  the  more  ancient,  less  cur- 
tailed forms  to  avoid  the  hiatus,  f.  i.,  cet,  nouvel,  bel,  vieil,  etc.,  in- 
stead of  the  more  ill-treated  ce,  nouveau,  beau,  vieux.  As  for  the 
Italians,  their  language  is  the  most  capricious  of  all  othei*s  in  this  par- 
ticular, so  that  it  is  not  much  to  say  thas  it  has  lost  all  consciousness 
of  its  majestic  kindred,  and  that  it  scarcely  befits  the  a3sthetic  and 
literary  wants  of  so  illustrious  a  nation.  In  saying  this,  the  author  is 
certain  of  encountering  the  contradiction  of  almost  all  admirers  of 
the  language  of  all  Muses  of  modern  times  and  of  all  sons  of  the 
ill-fated  countiy  "  che  I'Appennin  parte  e'l  mare  circonda  e  le  Alpi." 
But  "  amicus  Plato,  magis  arnica  Veritas."  The  Italian  language  hjis 
but  5  words  ending  with  consonants,  viz. :  ^7,  m,  con^  non,  and  pe7\ 
But  final,  0,  e  and  sometimes  a,  are  often  cast  away  before  words  be- 
ginning with  consohants,  but  only  after  the  liquids,  which  themselv<3S 
can  be  lost,  and  then  the  o,  e  again,  f.  i.,  parlai'ono,  parlaron,  parlaro, 
and  parlar,  all  meaning  the  Fr.  parlerent.  Before  vowels  only  the 
same  vowels  must,  while  the  others  may,  be  thrown  away,  and  then 
the  sign  of  apostrophe  is  used.  A  sickly  liking  of  double  consonants 
prevails  through  the  language,  which  betrays  complete  disregard  for 
the  organism  of  the  original  sounds,  so  that  a  consonant  may  run 
through  the  whole  phonetic  triad  (p.  75),  without  shocking  the  glos- 
sic  feeling  of  Italian  scholai*s  or  the  ear  of  the  songful  people.  !N'o 
wonder !  Is  the  Atlas  of  falsehood  not  seated  on  a  Roman  curule, 
but  Mahomedanized  chair,  as  steward  =  (constant -}- t^^orr^)  of  the 
On)nipotent ;  in  the  splendor  of  ancient  Rome,  amalgamated  with 
the  mellow,  mellifluous,  but  mildewed  mildness  of  the  faith  of  love  ? 
If  the  cuckoo  thus  could  lay  his  eggs  into  the  eagle's  nest,  why  could 


GERMS    AND    ROOTS.  177 

the  sternest  and  truest  of  languages  not  degenerate  in  the  same  ratio  ? 
From  L.  debeo  we  have  deggio  and  debbo,  but  we  pronounce  the 
former  dedz'yo ;  thus  running  through  6,  ^,  d  ;  ruthlessly  confound- 
ing sounds,  lettei*s,  simple,  compound.  L.  omnis  becomes  ogni,  and 
this  makes  a  summei-set  by  sounding  onyi. 

To  the  euphonic  sounds  and  letters  may  be  added  those  which 
serve  the  purpose  of  mere  phonetic  expedients  (p.  122). 

The  grammatic  functions  are  performed  by  those  sounds  which 
are  of  the  lowest  value  in  their  logic  or  lexipoetic  (wordmaking)  ca- 
pacity (pp.  148,  149,  both  towards  the  end),  namely  the  vowels  (p. 
71),  the  liquids  (p.  76)  and  the  dentals.     Sounds  of  this  cast  are 
called  servile  by  Shemitic  grammarians.     It  would  be  more  proper  to 
call  these  sounds  typic  or  schematic^  for  they  coin,  as  it  were,  from  the 
original  and  common  material  of  all  languages,  certain  forms  which 
constitute  the  several  languages,  words  and  parts  of  speech,  as  the  case 
may  be.     Let  us  recur  to  what  has  been  said  of  the  Etyma  on  p.  57. 
Although  Etymology  has  been  and  is  yet  often  taken  for  the  act  of 
tracing  words  to  their  germs  and  roots,  whence  it  was  translated 
"  origination''  and  by  Scaliger  (Poet.  III.),  vocis  ratio,  vis  qua  vox 
a  voce  generatur  ;"  yet  its  real  nature  is  expressed  by  its  own  origi- 
nation, it  being  derived  from  tvttto),  to  strike,  tap  (inverted  put,  pat), 
through   the  participle  past  rer-Tvix/jLivo?,  struck,  coined.     Now,  the 
coin  is  imparted  just  by  the  servile  sounds  which  are  12  in  number, 
i.  e.,  9  in  common  lo  the  Shemitic  and  to  our  tongues :  a,  e,  i,  u  (and 
v),  m,  n,  s,  t,  and  3  Shemitic  ones  :  b,  c,  1,  while  ours  are  also  3  : 
d,  o,  r.     The  agreement  becomes  yet  greater  by  considering  that 
1  and  r  are  homogeneous,  that  our  d  is  but  a  softer  t,  and  that  we 
also  have  a  sort  of  servile  b  (in  Latin  indicat.  preterit  imperf. ;  future 
of  the  1st  and  2d  conjug. ;  and  the  datives  sing.  ti6i,  si6i,  plural  of 
the  1st  declens.  of  femin.  which  have  corresponding  masculines,  as 
animaSus,  and  of  the  3d,  4th  and  5th  declensions)  and  g  (in  English 
and  Old  German  participle  present,  f.  i.,  being,  king,  G.  Be-sprechung, 
speaking,  discourse). 

But  c,  g  and  b  are  probably  only  servile  by  a  mistake  of  gram- 
marians, as  they  are  too  significant  to  be  menials.  They  are,  indeed, 
as  all  the  other  serviles,  nothing  but  independent  germs.  They  func- 
tion also  as  roots,  with  this  distinction,  that  while  the  real  serviles  are 


li^ftv  .     ;         y'  GERMS    AND    ROOTS. 

demonstrative  (see  above  dentals  and  liquids),  they  denote  more 
deeply  the  qualities  of  objects,  c,  g  being  guttural  and  b  labial.  The 
c,  g  are  radicals  of  L.  ago,  actum ;  compare  G.  konig,  king,  Anglo- 
Saxon  cyning,  as  if  it  were  "  he  who  can  or  cen  ac-t."  In  the  vulgar 
dialect  we  meet  with  hearin,  speakin,  instead  of  hearing,  speaking. 

"  Literae  suos  hoacs  esto ;  litera  animi  nuntia." 


.'ii>&4<:#i  #^- 


CHAPTER     V, 


„,  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

"In  consuetudine  communi  quot  modis  literarum  commutatio  sit  facta  qui  animadverterit, 
facilius  scrutari  origines  patietur  verborum." — Varro. 

"  The  perfections  of  language  not  properly  understood  have  been  one  of  the  chief  causes 
of  the  imperfections  of  our  philosophy.  And,  indeed,  from  numberless  passages  throughout 
his  Essay,  Mr.  Locke  seems  to  me  to  have  suspected  something  of  this  sort ;  and  especially 
from  what  he  hints  in  his  last  chapter,  where,  speaking  of  the  doctrine  of  signs,  he  says, 
'  The  consideration,  then,  of  ideas  and  words,  as  the  great  instrument  of  knowledge,  makes 
no  despicable  part  of  their  contemplation  who  would  take  a  view  of  human  knowledge  in  the 
whole  extent  of  it.  And,  perhaps,  if  they  were  distinctly  weighed  and  duly  considered,  they 
would  afford  us  another  sort  oflogick  and  critick  than  we  have  hitherto  been  acquainted  with." 
"•*-HoRNB  TooKi^  edit.  1840. 

WoR-D,  L.  VeR-b-um,  affords  itself  an  illustration  of  the  process  of 
the  formation  of  words.  In  Chinese  both  what  we  name  root  and 
w^ord  are  but  one,  as  the  language  has  no  grammar  in  our  accepta- 
tion (p.  148),  but  forms  sentences  and  speech  merely  by  what  we  call 
syntax.  The  latter  we  wrongly  consider  as  a  part  of  grammar,*  as 
without  it  no  language  would  be  conceivable.  As  good,  God,  are  gut, 
Gott  in  German,  so  is  word,  wort,  a  participle  past,  from  the  root  ver 
or  vir,  or  wor,  or  for  (compound  of  the  germs  f,  r),  fr6m«vvhich  we 
have  the  following  words :  L.  ver,  spring ;  vir-eo,  I  green,  whence 
virid-is,  gi'een ;  ver-us,  true  ;  vir,  man ;  vir-tus ;  for-tis,  strong,  etc.,  E. 


*  There  is,  indeed,  so  much  hallucination,  tergiversation  and, — permit 
the  expression — Kilkenny-catting,  in  the  very  elementary  methods  and 
systems  of  instruction,  that  it  is  to  be  wondered  at  how  common  sense  can 
escape  being  totally  drowned  in  the  confusion.  Thank  God  !  Our  health 
outlives  all  alio-,  homoeo-,  hydro-,  botano-,  pyro-,  etc.  pathies ;  our  moral 
constitution  braves  all  codes,  pandects,  Cujacius',  Blackstones,  etc. ;  so  also 
do  we  escape  all  grammatic  and  other  schoolings  ;  but,  alas,  with  impaired 
health,  morals,  taste  and  ideas. 


^®^    t '*\1^%^^^  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

wor-th,  G.  wer-th ;  etc.,  all  signifying  movement  and  vigor  or  liveli- 
ness. The  Germans  took  thence  their  so-called  verb  werd-en,  to  be 
(as  auxiliary  of  the  passive  voice)  and  to  become  ;  ge-word-en,  what 
has  become.  The  French  have  verve  meaning  liveliness  and  wit,  to 
which  the  L.  verbum  is  next  in  form  and  very  near  in  meaning. 
What  is  called  verb  in  grammars  is  just  the  most  important  sort  of 
words :  seeing  they  obtain  this  value  from  their  function  in  the  sen- 
tence.  The  Chinese  call  this  logic,  lexic  and  phrasic  (allow  this  word 
to  pass)  word  the  living  words ! 

A  word  is  a  connexion  of  sounds  which  has  become  a  token  of 
thought.  We  have  seen  how  roots  are  confounded  with  words ;  that 
naked  roots  may  be  employed  as  words ;  that  in  Chinese  both  coin- 
cide ;  that  simple  and  compound  words  are  so-called  without  discrim- 
ination ;  that  their  essential  or  logic  parts  are  confounded  with  those 
which  are  euphonic,  gramraatic  and  even  with  their  superfluous  or 
erroneous  ones,  that  ancient  grammatic  formations  are  again  subject- 
ed to  new  grammatic  fashionings,  a.  s.  f. 

Unless  there  were  a  natural  law  underlying  language ;  unless  man, 
without  being  aware  of  it,  had  in  compliance  with  it,  yet  in  conform- 
ity with  the  various  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  framed  the 
various  languages  and  dialects  we  know :  we  should  be  lost  in  the 
confusion  of  all  the  combinations,  without  the  hope  of  being  able  to 
master  their  prodigious  mass.  Leibnitz  calculated  the  24  sounds  of 
languages  known  to  him,  and  obtained  over  half  a  quadrillion  of  com- 
binations. Tacquet  (arithm.  theor.  Antwerp,  1663)  brought  out 
620,448,401, Y33,239,439,360,000  combinations,  and  says  that  "If 
a  thousand  million  writers  wrote  during  thousand  millions  of  years, 
they  could  not  write  all  the  permutations  of  the  24  letters  of  the  al- 
phabet ;  ^tfiough  each  wrote  eveiy  day  40  pages,  each  of  which  would 
contain  the  various  orders  of  the  24  letters."  Clavius,  a  Jesuit, 
however,  brought  out  only  6,852,617,738,497,664,000.  Othere 
were  more  or  less  merciful. 

FuLDA  made  out  from  300  to  400  roots  in  German ;  Court  de 
Gebelin  less  than  400  in  French ;  Fourmont  300  in  Greek ;  the 
same  and  Bayer  from  330  to  350  in  Chinese.  Compare  what  h^is 
been  said  on  p.  146  on  roots,  and  on  p.  156  foil,  on  Sanscrit  roots. 

Iakel  derived  the  Latin  from  German  and  from  its  sister  dialects, 
the  Swedish,  Danish,  Icel.,  Holland.,  etc.     Klopstock  prided  him- 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  181 

self  in  affirming  that  the  German  was  altogether  standing  by  itself 
independently.  Some  supposed  the  Sanscrit  to  have  been  made  up 
from  Greek  by  Brahmins,  after  the  invasion  of  India  by  Alexander 
the  Great ;  as  if, — says  Schlegel,  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  w^ere  said 
to  be  natural  crystals ! 

Murray  (hist.  Europ.  langu.,  Edinburgh,  1823)  attempted  to  re- 
duce all  simple  words  to  9  words  as  the  foundations  of  language,  and 
all  denoting  movement,  pressure  and  striking,  with  more  or  less  ce- 
lerity and  force,  i.  e. :  1.  ag,  wag,  kwag ;  2.  bag,  bwag  and  fag,  pag; 
3,  dwag,  thwag,  twag ;  4,  gwag,  c^vag ;  5,  lag,  hlag ;  6,  mag  ;  7,  nag, 
hnag  ;  8,  rag,  hrag ;  9,  swag. 

Chavee  (p.  163)  derives  all  verbs  (mots  par  excellence),  from  the 
perception  of  an  effort  or  noise,  which  is  expressed  by  an  imitative 
syllable  with  all  the  visible  movements  connected  therewith.  He 
divides  all  words  into  two  provinces,  to  wit :  I.  Imitations  of  efforts^ 
productive  of  motion,  as  perceived  by  the  touch.  If  the  forces  con- 
verge^ we  feel  pressure,  twisting,  etc. :  if  they  diverge,  we  feel  tension, 
expansion,  relaxation,  etc.  All  these  are  accompanied  with  fit  ges- 
tures of  our  body.  Hence  two  classes :  1)  to  Press,  whose  subdivi- 
sions are  to :  Put,  Bear,  Hold,  Squeeze,  Bend,  or  5  ordei-s,  which 
^  contain  families  and  tribes.  2)  To  extend  with  5  ordei-s  and  their 
branches.  II.  Imitations  of  noises  effected  by  motion.  To  this  he 
attributes  the  origin  of  one  third  of  the  Indo-European  verbs,  as  made 
by  what  is  vaguely  named  Ovofxaro'Troua  (wordmaking,  but  exclusive- 
ly applied  to  words  imitative  of  sounds).  Three  classes  :  1)  to  CVy, 
where  the  scale  of  vowels  plays  an  important  part,*  especially  in  mod- 
ern languages.  2)  To  Blow.  3)  To  Destroy,  subdivided  into  3 
sorts  :  Beat,  Split,  Tear. 

The  views  just  citedf  together  with  what  has  been  either  expressly 
said  or  alluded  to  in  various  portions  of  our  diatribe,  are  sufficient  to 
convince  the  reader  of  two  things.     The  fij*st  is  that  all  such  sys- 

*  Albi  Ovidii  luventini  Philomela,  of  70  verses,  contains  the  following : 

"  Cucurrire  solet  gallus.  gallina  gracillat, 
Pupillat  pavo,  trissat  hirundo  vaga  ; 
Dum  clangunt  aquilsB,  vultiir  piilpare  probatur, 
Et  crocitat  corvus,  graculus  at  fiigulat, 
Gloctorat  immenso  de  turrc  ciconia  rostro, 
Pessimus  at  passer  tristia  flendo  pipit .  .  .  .  " 


182  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

tems  or  theories  as  go  far  out  and  away  from  our  own  mental  and 
sensitive  capacities,  and  from  our  own  languages,  do  not  amve  at 
more  clearness  in  the  undei-standing  of  these,  than  one  which  pursues 
a  different  way — the  way,  namely,  recommended  by  the  author.  We 
see,  in  the  second  place,  that  a  great  mass  of  learning,  accompanied 
with  a  pertinacious  attachment  to  the  views  and  practices  inculcated 
by  the  schools  since  the  revival  of  learning,  or  since  the  age  in  which 
people  hoped  to  acquire  knowledge  by  magic  tricks  or  by  incanta- 
tion, or  by  dressing  in  ugly  garments, — that  a  dead  heap  of  scholar- 
ship is  more  in  the  way  of  our  improvement  than  a  real  promoter  of 
it  (pp.  53,  118,  119). 

An  attempt  to  count  all  individual  leaves  of  plants,  or  of  even  all 
forms  of  crystals,  could  but  lead  to  distraction  without  arriving  to  any 
definite  stop.  The  above  calculations  are  more  calculated  to  be- 
wilder than  to  enlighten  or  to  satisfy. 

The  rooting  in  French  or  Italian  soil  infaUibly  ends  in  uprooting 
the  language  itself ;  as  its  origins  are  Celtic,  Latin,  Teutic,  etc.,  which 
again  converge  to  one  common  source.  English,  Spanish,  and  other 
pretended  roots  are  in  the  same  predicament. 

The  Teutic, — to  give  a  striking  example  of  what  has  just  been 
said  and  of  what  has  been  so  often  repeated  under  various  forms  of 
expression  in  this  treatise, — is  in  its  essence,  originality,  organic  gene- 
sis, quite  identic  with  Latin,  when  taken  in  this  sense.  There  is  no 
word  in  the  former,  whose  roots  may  not  be  found  in  the  latter.  It  is 
idle  to  call  either  of  these  languages  either  old  or  new,  ancient  or 
modern.  The  literature  only  of  the  Latin  is  older  than  that  of  the 
German.  To  say  that  one  is  the  daughter  of  the  other  is  equally  in- 
correct, for  both  spring  from  the  same  univei-sal  source  which  bubbles 
up  from  the  harmonic  organizations  of  man,  and  of  the  world  (p.  20), 
as  germs  of  language.  If  the  Germans  had  borrowed  their  language 
from  the  Romans,  we  would  be  in  this  dilemma :  the  Germans  either 
had  no  language  at  all  before  they  came  into  contact  with  the  latter, 
or  they  would  have  forgotten  their  own  old  language  and  this  so 
completely,  as  not  to  have  even  preserved  any  fragments  or  any  re- 
membrance of  their  real  mother-tongue.  Both  horns  of  the  dilem- 
ma gor-e  (cor-e,  corn,  horn)  common  sense  to  death.  A  close  look  at 
one  of  them  causes  both  to  melt  into  naught.  Were  it  true,  the  Ger- 
mans  must  have  hved  without  speech  for  thousancs  of  years ;  they 


WORDS    AND    IDIOM  3.  18S 

I  would  have  had  no  name  for  their  own  kopf  L.  cap-ut ;  hir-n,  cer- 
ebrum; haar,  cri-nes;  nase,  nasus;  zunge,  ding-ua  (p.  21) ;  zahn-e, 
dialectic  zent,  dent-es ;  gurg-el,  guttur ;  kehle,  coUum ;  haut,  cut-is ; 
kinn,  gen-a ;  ohr-en,  aur-es ;  aug-en,  oc-uli ;  fus-se,  ped-es,  etc. ;  they 
would  have  been  bor-n  (par-ti)  without  vater,  pater ;  without  mutter, 
mater ;  they  would  have  had  no  brothers,  fratres,  no  schwester-n, 
soror-es,  etc. ;  they  could  not  have  named  the  nacht-e,  noct-es ;  nor 
ta-ge,  dies ;  son-ne,  sol ;  stet-ne,  stel-las,  and  a-stra,  etc. ;  in  short 
they  would  have  been  either  obliged  to  be  mute  as  fishes,  pisces,  or 
to  h-eul-en,  ul-ul-are  with  the  hun-de,  can-es,  etc.     Absurd  ! 

Chavee's  onomatopoietic  superabundant  source  is  a  mere  glosso- 
logic  fata-morgana,  a  flying  Frenchman,  a  mirage  produced  by  re- 
fracted rays  of  truth  on  a  Sahara  of  scholarship.  Man's  avenues  for 
the  perception  of  the  qualities  of  objects  are  not  the  ears  alone  !  Nor 
is  Chavee's  classification  more  worth.  He  borrowed,  without  crediting 
it,  from  Sanscrit  grammarians.  He  attempts  to  deduce  all  words  of 
our  languages  from  283  roots,  whose  germs,  i.e.,  first  consonants,  de- 
note all  the  several  distinct  words  without  any  organic  discrimination ! 
His  "  ultima  ratio"  of  derivation  is  simply  a  concordance  with  San- 
scrit !     Compare  p.  181. 

We  now  leave  altogether  the  consideration  of  the  germs  and 
roots,  as  such,  and  proceed  to  that  of  the  modes  by  which  words  or  so- 
called  words  (p.  151)  are  framed  by  grouping  the  germs,  and  by  al- 
tering them. 

Quantity  and  quahty  are  the  categories  of  said  formation  and  al- 
teration. As  in  the  realm  of  bodily  organisms  there  is  a  gradual  rise 
from  the  simplest  cells,  as  it  were  the  first  breath  of  hfe,  through  ever 
higher  forms,  to  the  body  of  man  :  so  there  is  an  analogous  ascent 
from  the  simple  germs  of  thought-  and  feeling-  fraught  (Chap.  I.)  ar- 
ticulate sounds,  through  the  ephemeral  compositions  of  poetastei*s,  to 
the  sublime  works  of  David,  Homer,  Plato,  Shakspeare  and  other 
heroes  of  the  word  (p.  25).  Composition  of  elements,  whether  it 
be  called  conjugation,  or  agglutination,  or  accretion,  or  by  any  other 
name,  and  Alteration^  otherwise  called  declension,  variation,  change, 
or  something  else,  are  the  two  momenta  answering  to  the  above  cate- 
gories. 

Here  the  reader  is  warned  again  against  taking  the  words  conjuga- 
tion and  declension  in  the  scholastic  sense,  the  former  as  a  variation 


184  WORDS   AND    IDIOMS. 

of  verbs  through  persons,  a.  s.  f.,  and  the  latter  as  a  variation  of  nouns 
through  cases,  etc.  Con-iugo,  to-^e-ther  yoke^  proclaims  its  own  mean- 
ing ;  de-cline  (of  the  same  root  with  an-^le),  bend  of  or  away,  does 
the  same.  The  former  consists  in  the  so-called  verbs  (p.  149)  in  a 
connexion  of  the  verb  itself  with  an  affixed  ancient  personal  pronoun : 
whereas  the  latter  is  wrongly  applied  to  the  variation  of  so-called 
nouns,  which  itself  is  also  but  a  conjugation  or  connexion  of  the  noun 
with  an  affixed  ancient  demonstrative  pl-onoun.  In  both  there  is,  so 
far,  conjugation.  But  there  is  declension  also  in  both  ;  since  this  con- 
sists in  a  decline  or  change  of  the  vowel  within  the  verb  or  noun  itself, 
without  any  thing  being  affixed  to  it  at  the  end  as  termination.  In 
other  words,  the  verbs  as  well  as  the  nouns  can  be' or  arc  both  conju- 
gated and  declined.  Examples  will  show  this  conclusively.  The 
affixes  or  suffixes  or  terminations  of  both  kinds  of  words  are  composed 
of  servile  sounds  (p.  177).  We  give  only  the  different  forms,  without 
repeating  them  for  every  case,  number,  person,  etc. 

Greek  Article  :  6,  rj^  t6  ;  toi),  t^s  ;  t^J,  t^  ;  rSy,  tt]u.  rdo,  rd  ;  toTv,  tuTv. 
01,  at,  rd  ;  rwy  ;   ro7s,  rats  ;  rovs,  rds. 

Declens.  1 :  a,  77 ;  as,  rjs]  as,  7}s,  ou  ;  9,  7; ;  av,  riv.  a,  aiv.  at,  wv,  ais,  as. 
2 :  OS,  ov  ]  ov]  (p  ]  ov.  CO,  011^.  01,  <ev,  ois,  ovs.  3  :  a,  i,  v,  w,  v,  ^  (ks),  p,  cr, 
^  (Try)  ]  OS  ',  I  ]  a,  u.     e  ;  oiy.     es ',  <av  ;   <n,  ^cri ;  as. 

Comparis.  -rep-os,  rar-os  and  -lo-r-os. 

Conjug.,  without  strict  regard  to  the  distinction  into  principal  and  into 
historic  tenses  :  -9,  -e,  ei ;  rov,  tt^v  ;  /xev,  re,  ai  and  v.  Passiv. :  ^ai  and  /xi]!/, 
aai  and  ao,  rai  and  to  ;  fie^ov,  a^oj/,  a^Tjy ;  fxe^a,  ff^e,  vrai  and  yro.  Verbs 
in  ^i,  s,  (Ti.     Tense-endings  :  w  ;  ov,  6fx7]v ;  trw  ;  a;  fiai ;   ou ;   dfir)v ;   €iv  ;  w ; 

Adverb-endings :  as,  Sr^v,  ivda ;  -nUu  ;  €^,  I,  ri ;  art]  w  ;  ^i ;  crt ;  ov,  tj,  o?, 
ffe  ;   ^€v ;   ov,  o7,  ^.  re. 

Latin,  also  without  entering  into  specialities,  merely  showing  the  varie- 
ty of  sounds.  Declens.  1)  a;  as  and  ai,  ae ;  am  ;  arum  ;  is ;  as.  2)  us,  er, 
ir,  ur,  um ;  i ;  o.  orum,  os.  3)  a,  e,  i,  o,  n,  r,  s,  t,  x  (cs)  in  the  nominative ; 
since  the  so-called  terminations  c,  d,  1,  as  in  lac,  id,fel  are  not  terminations 
but  parts  of  the  root  itself,  i.  e.,  constituent  germs  ;♦— is ;  i;  em  or  im;  e 
or  i.  es,  a ;  um ;  ibus.  4)  u,  us  j  ui.  us  ;  uum  ;  ubus.  6)  es ;  ei  j  em. 
erum;  ebus.f 


*  In  taking  the  living  parts  of  words  for  their  accessories  we  resemblo 
the  cats  who  hook  our  fingers  when  we  reach  them  a  piece  of  tlesh. 

t  The  division  of  so-called  declensions  into  5  is  another  of  the  many 
sins  against  common-sense.    To  what  declension  do  the  pronouns  and  the 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  §ff 

Comparis.  ior  and  ins  ;  issimiis  or  simus  (mac-simus)  or  imus. 

Conjug.  o,  s,  t ;  rails,  tis,  nt.  am,  s,  t,  etc.  i,  isti,  it.  abo,  abis,  etc.  ero, 
eris.  etc.  erara,  s,  t,  etc.  issem,  s.  etc.  Passive :  or,  ris  or  re,  tur ;  mur,  minor 
(mini),  ntur.  Infin.  re;  ri,  isse.  Particip.  ns,  tus,  urus,  ndus;  Gerund,  di, 
do,  dum. 

German  Article  with  all  the  terminations  of  the  adjectives  and  of  most 
pronouns :  der,  die,  das ;  des,  der  ;  dem  ;  den,  die  ;  der ;  den.*  Declens. 
s,  n;  er,  en.  Comparis.  er,  st.  Conjug.  e,  st,  t;  en.  te,  test;  ten;  Intin, 
en.     Partic.  end,  t  or  en. 

Span,  and  Portug.  No  declens.,  only  plural  mark  s.  Comparis.  only 
one  form  r.  Conjug.  vowel,  s  ;  mos,  is,  n  (P.  ra  or  o).  ba,  bas,  (P.  va,  etc.) 
vowel,  ste  ;  stes,  on  (P.  am  or  ao).  re,  ras,  ra  (P.  rei,  ras,  ra)  ;  pi.  ran  (P. 
r  ao) ;  se,  ses  ;  sen  (P.  sse,  sses  ;  ssem).  Another  form  of  the  2d  pers.  pi. 
des.    Infin.  r.     Partic.  (pres.  rare  nte)  past  do. 

Italian  :  all  forms  end  with  vowels  (p.  176)  unless  they  be  dropped  after 
liquids.  The  letters  before  these  final  vowels  correspond  with  the  Latin, 
or  with  the  French  ones.  The  Italian  is  overloaded  with  final  i's  (plural 
masc.  and  2d  pers.  sing.) 

Frknch  no  declension,  only  plural  s  which  is  mis- written  after  au,  ou,  x. 
f.  i.,  animal  was  once  in  the  plural,  like  the  English,  animals^  but  as  the 
French  current  hand-vvriting  leans  rather  leftwards  and  is  of  square  shape, 
the  final  s  looks  like  an  x,  being  really  but  an  s  with  a  flourish  crossing  it; 
printers  mistook  s  for  an  x,  and  "  la  grande  nation"  which  speaks  "  du  nez" 
(through  the  nose  ;  p.  120),  boasts  an  i  grec  without  having  it  (any  more 
than  it  has  a  "  republique"  or  '•  la  liberte"  either,  p.  73),  has  sublimated  a 
mistake  into  a  law  of  language  ("Tout  comme  chez  nous;"  p.  43.  top). 
Hence  we  have  aniviaux.  The  sinking  of  I  down  to  u.  together  with  this 
crossing  of  the  s  after  it,  takes  place  through  the  whole  language  and  not 
merely  (as  the  grammarians  hallucinate)  in  the  formation  of  the  plural ; 
thus  mfauz  from  fals-us  ;  vieux  from  vetul-us ;  etc. — No  comparison  at  all. 
— Conjug.  stem  alone  or  the  terminations  :  e,  s ;  ons,  ez,  ent.  ais,  ait.  t ; 
mes,  tes,  rent,  rai,  ras,  ra  ;  rons,  rez,  ront.  rais,  t;  rions,  riez,  raient.  sse, 
sses,  t ;  ssions,  ssiez,  ssent.    Inf  r,  re.     Partic.  nt ;  e,  s,  t. 

The  transformation  from  the  Latin  terminations  took  place  thus  :  mus 


adjectives  unus,  solus,  ullus,  uter,  etc..  belong  1  There  ought  to  be  either 
6  declensions,  or,  which  would  be  better,  the  whole  machinery  ought  to  be 
cast  away. 

*  The  G.  article  is  not  a  simple  root !  but  a  compound  of  the  demon- 
strative dental  (Thing,  p.  151)  germ  with  the  marks  of  the  genders  and  of 
the  cases,  affixed  to  it,  which  themselves  are  but  a  sprout  of  this  very 
same  germ  stabk^d  by  the  grammarians  into  the  stall  of  their  pronouns  (p. 
149).  This  gouty  gentry  are  the  ofi^spring  of  those  valiant  sires  who  cap- 
tured the  winged  words,  wlien  yet  frisking  in  the  poetic  mouths  of  unpol- 
luted humanity  (Burns'  callans.  p.  124)  into  their  grammatic  lassos.  They 
now  use  them  as  hobbies  or  dray-horses,  to  obtain  their  living  by,  but  only 
by  dint  of  killing  the  sprightliness  of  the  rising  generations. 


186  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

plural  become  ons  (or  transposed  nos) ;  ez  is  but  a  shrivelled  eiis,  i.  e.,  the 
i  being  lost,  the  i  coalesces  with  5  into  the  letter  z  which  in  German  as  well 
as  in  Provencal  (dialect  of  the  Troubadours,  or  Roraancse)  i<'prestnts  a 
compound  ts,  similarly  to  the  Greek  ^=dz  or  sd  (p.  96).  In  general,  all  the 
internal  organism  of  words  coint^d  into  French  currency,  pervades  all  so- 
called  parts  of  speech,  and  is  not  confined. — as  the  gentlemen  schoolmas- 
ters presume  to  teach — to  certain  of  those  parts.  Thus  they  call  the  verbs 
venir,  mourir,  mouvoir,  falloir,  and  others  of  this  kind,  irregular,  forgetting 
that,  unless  what  they  stigmatize  as  such  existed,  their  very  language  would 
not  exist.  For,  all  languages  owe  their  being  to  a  deviation  from  the  one 
universal  language  that  underlies  the  particular  ones.  '  Je  viens,  viendrai ;' 
'  je  meurs,  nous  mourons ;'  '  que  je  meuve  ;'  '  il  faut,  il  faudra,'  etc.,  are  not 
more  or  less  irreg.  than  '  bien'  from  L.  bene  ;  than  tendre'  (p.  174  Chanibre) ; 
than  '  mou'  from  mol-lis  ;  '  poudre'  from  pulvis ;  than  '  chaud'  from  calidus. 
Gentlemen  !  such  phenomena  are  as  little  irregular  as  any  other  ones  de- 
pendent on  organization.  Plato  would  call  you  giddy  (p.  131).  This  ap- 
plies, more  or  less,  to  all  other  languages  w^hich  in  every  particular  tell 
tales  upon  themselves,  as  well  as  upon  others  ;  provided  they  be  examined 
in  the  way  taught  by  Bacon  of  Verulam,  for  natural  sciences. 

.English  :  of  Declension  we  have  now  but  the  s  of  the  genit.  sing.,  the 
s  and  en  of  the  plur.  number.  Comparis.  er,  st.  Conjug.  st.,  s  (th  of  old), 
ed,  edst,  and  t,  test.  Participles  ing  (p.  177),  ed.  t,  en  (p.  151  Thing, 
That,  Rain  ;  152,  Straight,  and  further  on  Light,  Shield,  Field,  Plain.  Son). 
Indeed,  the  so-called  English  words,  having  been  wrought  (p.  151)  before 
the  salaried,  steady,  scholastic,  stiff,  dry  as  dust  grammatists  had  taken 
hold  of  language,  exhibit  much  more  of  what  is  now  yclept  grammatic 
formation,  and  many  other  in.s(ructive  things  besides.  These  neglected 
eye-signs  ; — for  thej'  are  not  voices,  thanks  to  the  Ai-bee-sea-men  ; — were 
they  properly  studied  in  our  own  vernacular,  without  the  truth-dispelling 
spelling,  in  the  mere  liglit  of  common-sense  and  without  the  fear  of  the 
yawning  pit  which  an  otherwise  worthy  man  threatens  to  dig  for  them  (p. 
62,  60,  118) ; — would  aid  us  more  and  quicker  in  acquiring  a  sound  Logic 
(see  Locke's  o[)inion  at  the  head  of  this  chapter)  and  a  solid  knowledge  of 
other  languages,  than  all  elucubrations  of  societies  strutting  into  notoriety 
by  highly  soaring  soap-bubbles  of  rainbowy  names  (p.  13  bottom  125  and 
Cratylus  p.  126-140). 

So  much  on  servile  or  grammatic  and  euphonic  sounds. 

Now  for  declension.  This  pervades  the  whole  mass  of  languages 
even  the  Cliinese,  the  intonations  of  whose  words  are  but  what  the 
Germans  name  Umlaut  (metaphonesis).  Thus  man^  men^  L.  ho-min-e 
min-d,  men-s,  hu-man-us,  to  mean,  mean-t,  G.  mein-en,  L.  mon-eo, 
etc.  Sed-eo,  sit,  sat,  seat,  sod,  sit-e.  Tell,  tol-d,  t.il-c.  i(4L  (i.  /ahl^ 
zahlen,  zoll.     Think,  though-t,  G.   denk-eii,  ge-daeh-t.     iSiug,  sang, 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  l#i> 

song,  G.  sing-^ii,  sang,  s^ng-e,  ge-sung-en.  Tang-o,  te-tig-i ;  touch, 
Fr.  tic,  etc.  Sequ-or,  soc-ius,  as-sec-la,  E,  seek,  sough-t,  G.  such-en, — 
Sache,  E.  sak-e. 

Let  us  enlarge  our  prospect,  by  rising  higher,  in  order  that  our 
range  of  observation  may  increase.  Few  patterns  may  suffice  to  il- 
lustrate the  modes  of  composition  and  declension,  taken  in  the  above 
wide  sense.     Let  the  specimens  be : 

Car-€^  L.  cur-a  (guttural  -f-  lingual  =  symbol  of  internal  most  in- 
herent +  symbol  of  external  most  movable)  give  car-ed,  cur-at-um ; 
hence  guar-d,  Fr.  gar-d-er ;  hence  again  gar-d-en,  jar-d-in  (double 
participles  or  supines;  p.  152  Straigh-t-en),  and  yar-d,  Fr.  cour,  L. 
cur-ia,  E.  cour-t ;  and  war-d  be-ware,  Fr.  gar-e.  The  sense  is  partly 
that  of  keeping  united  with  that  of  hvehness.  The  latter  prevailing 
in  car,  L.  cur-rus ;  whence  car-t.  We  guard  with  the  greatest  liveli- 
ness or  attention  that  which  is  most  dear,  most  important ;  see  on  pp. 
146,  169  the  explanation  of  the  germs.  From  this  result  the  follow- 
ing forms,  scattered  over  all  languages :  cher-ish,  char-ity,  cheer ; 
year-n ;  war-e,  war-n ;  Fr.  cher-ir,  etc.,  G.  ger-n ;  by  transposition ; 
L.  gra-t-us,  Fr.  a-gre-able  ;  further  gar-rison  ;  L.  car-cer  (reduphcated). 
Adding  the  application,  made  by  the  ideas  of  concretion,  we  have : 
ker-nel,  cor-n,  hor-n,  chur-n,  cur-dle,  L.  cer-a,  wax  the  har-d  part  of 
the  produce  of  bees  (the  soft  or  flowing,  mellow  being  mel,  just  as 
cor-n  or  grai-n,  the  produce  of  Cer-es,  gives  meal :  L.  mol-le,  soft. 
Remember  gri-nd  which  is  but  grai-ned  in  the  mill,  L.  mola,  i.  e.,  the 
mollifying  machine) ;  a-cor-n  the  fruit  of  L.  quer-cus,  as  it  were,  arbor 
quer-na  or  corn-tree,  whose  bark,  L.  cor-tex,  is  cor-k.  Additions  of 
other  elements  modify  the  previous  meanings.  Metaphoric  or  trans- 
ferred applications  to  objects  more  or  less  similar  among  themselves 
in  nature  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  our  conception,  beget  further  met- 
amorphoses, metaphonisms  (G.  umlaute,  alterations  of  sounds).  Use,  at 
last,  and  frequently  mis-use,  induce  still  other  combinations,  variations, 
a.  s.  f.  Grammatic  functions  are  confounded  with  the  lexic  ones,  or  en- 
croach upon  them.  The  original  germs  and  roots  become  thus  so  dis- 
guised, as  to  evade  recognition.  The  central  signification  becomes 
blurred,  as  it  were,  by  the  peripheric^  centrifugal,  diversified  ones  (p. 
20,  c,  d,  f). 

Fut^L.  pet-o  (labial  +  dental  ==  symbol  of  external  moving -f- 
symbol  of  external  standing)  ===  move  to  or  to- wards.     The  universal 


188  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

movement  perceptible  by  us  is  towards  the  centre  of  our  globe,  i.  e., 
centripet-al,  i.  e.,  fall-ing  (p,  f  are  modes  of  the  same  germ  :  t,  1  are 
homogeneous) ;  hence  G.  ap-fel  E.  ap-ple,  i.  e.,  of-fal,  so  named  from 
being  a  fruit  whose  falling  is  most  frequently  noticed  (remember 
Newton's  apple  and  law  of  gravitation  ;  Galileo's  swinging  herrings). 
Pes  ped-is,  moves  to,  both  down  and  forwards ;  E.  foot,  feet,  and  L. 
vad-o,  vad-um  ;  wad-e,  etc. ;  L.  pas-sus,  compare  Engl,  path  (L.  sem- 
ita,  half-gone  or  trod) ;  further,  things  directed  downwards,  as  L.  put> 
eus,  pit ;  bot-tom,  bed,  boot ;  Fr.  bas,  stocking ;  base,  both  L.  basis, 
and  E.  bad  or  low ;  fath-om,  seek  for  bot-tom  ;  G.  fad-en,  thread,  with 
which  we  fathom.  Swelled  by  n  :  L.  fund-us,  without  it  fod-io,  dig ; 
and  fund-o,  to  pour  (variety  of  pu-t)  down ;  hence  foss-a.  Further 
putting  n  into  pet,  we  get  pend-eo  hang  (which  itself  is  named  from 
hook  or  hack,  on  which  it  hangs,  exhibiting  the  same  swelling  by  n ; 
compare  hing-e,  haunch,  and  ham  Fr.  jam-bon,  jambe ;  It.  gamba, 
leg)  and  pend-o,  appendo,  perpendo,  etc.,  and  pond-o,  pound  G.  pfund. 
Add  pono  posit-um;  whence  post-is  and  our  post  or  mail;  pons, 
bridge,  a  thing  put  over  a  gap  to  bring  us  over.  What  has  been 
said  under  Care  about  the  variations,  holds,  of  coui'se,  good  here  also. 

Tea7\  L.  ter-o,  tri-vi,  tri-t-um  (dental  -J-  lingual  =  symbol  of  exter- 
nal standing  +  symbol  of  external  most  movable).  The  substance  of 
our  earth  is,  on  the  whole,  apparently  and  comparatively  death,  stiflf, 
tooth-like,  ston-y.  "We  cannot  tear  water  which  goes,  moves,  wades, 
waves,  leaks,  i.  e.,  is  liqu-id :  we  can  and  do  tear  what  is  dr-y  Anglo- 
Sax,  dri-g,  G.  ti'o-ck-en.  Now  L.  ter-ra  is  dry  =  earth,  G.  erd-e,  L. 
arid-a.  Erd-e  is  but  another  form  of  arid,  dr-y,  a  mere  metathesis 
(transposition  as  board  of  broad,  spell  of  split,  /xopc^-r)  of  form,  L.  dorm- 
io  of  dream,  ttoXi;  of  plu-s,  etc.)  Compare  G.  erz,  ore.  The  r  denotes 
here  the  facility  and  the  noise  of  the  tri-turation,  as  in  rub,  where  it 
is  aided  by  a  labial,  as  in  L.  rap-id-us,  akin  to  rep-o,  c-reep ;  whence 
our  rob,  which  is  done  both  quickly  and  stealthily,  i.  e.,  stil-thily. 

After  so  many  examples  of  difterent  changes  in  quantity,  as  weU 
as  in  quality ;  of  physiologic  and  of  pathologic  phenomena ;  we  must 
now,  for  the  sake  of  variety, — lest  the  reader  become  tired  with  our 
prosy  rambhngs, — mount  the  Pegasus  of  system  and  soar  into  the 
regions  of  scholarship.  A  steeple-chase  will  bring  us,  at  last,  to  a 
break-neck  conclusion.  The  writer  does  not  expect  a  less  sad  termi- 
nation of  his  attempt  to  teach  the  idea  to  shoot  straight. 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  189 

Skinner  says :  '*  No  year  passes  without  some  change  being  made 
in  eveiy  language.  Nor  can  we  expect  all  things  to  be  succinct, 
accurate,  methodic  and  made  by  square  and  compasses,  in  Etymolo- 
gy :  for  languages  were  not  carved  out  by  a  senate  of  grammarians, 
but  by  the  untutored,  unsound  and  rule-defying  vulgar  mob.  This  is 
that  awful  tyrant,  more  cruel  than  Busiris  and  Nero,  who  has  mutila- 
ted, butchered,  crucified,  racked  and  wrenched,  by  all  sorts  of  tortures, 
in  a  hundred  ways,  the  innocent  language.  Notwithstanding  this 
it  is  not  given  to  the  learned  to  rebel  against :  for  to  the  former  alone 
nature  has  granted  a  full  power  over  language."  Yes,  indeed !  Yet 
academies,  councils  of  doctors,  etc.,  have  sinned  more  than  the  cal- 
lans  (clowns)  in  their  braid  lallans  (p.  124). 

The  machinery  on  which  languages  are  racked  is  thus  shown  by 
a  scholar  of  the  middle  ages : 

"  Prosthesis^  apponit  capiti,  quod  Aphaeresis"-  aufert ; 
Syncope^  de  medio  tollit,  quod  Epenthesis^  indit. 
Consona  quod  gemina  in  medio  est,  dat  Diplasiasmus^ . 
Aufert  Apocope^  finem,  sed  dat  Paragoge^. 
Dicitur  e  binis  conflare  Synaeresis^  unam, 
Dicitur  in  binas  difflare  Diaeresis^  unam. 

Litera  si  legitur  transposta  Metathesis^^  extat.         ,;»)i?8}0S^K*>|:  ^^Jli 
Compositae  vocis  dissectio  Tmesis^^  habetur."        -^^s^SlLa^^tt^pm^i^^iakt 

Examples  to  each,  as  marked  by  numbei-s  and  with  Latin  names : 

1.  Prcepositio,  Xcvk-os,  G.  b-leich,  E.  b-leach,  b  lanch,  i.  e.,  b-ligh- 
ted,  white.     E.  cut,  L.  a-cut,  a-cus,  needle.     L.  laet-us,  g-lad,  etc. 

2.  Ablatio,  is  but  the  former  inverted  :  L.  s-tan-num,  tin.  A-pdo-- 
os,  L.  ros.  E.  k-now,  L.  nosc-o.  L.  n-atr-ix,  swimming  snake,  E.  adder. 
M-t/i'/^X-os,  L.  3emul-us;  etc. 

3.  Exceptio :  sub-specio,  su-spicio,  look  under.  Anglo-Saxon  skeal- 
an,  shall,  G.  sol-len.  G.  wald,  wild,  E.  wood,  weed,  woad.  Anglo- 
Saxon  scald-re,  should-er,  from  hold-er ;  etc. 

4.  IntropositiOj  in  opposition  to  the  preceding :  Ilta),  bi-bo;  ^irios 
L.  spec-US.  Vei-s-are,  G.  foi-sch-en,  disguised  by  turning  about.  Kpar- 
os,  G.  kraft,  Holl.  kracht ;  etc. 

5.  DupUcatio :  abounding  in  Italian  :  Legge,  L.  leg-e ;  Ubbidire, 
obedire  ;  Notte,  fatto,  atto,  L.  noct-e,  fact-o,  act-u  and  apt-o  ;  etc.  Also 
frequent  in  other  languages. 

6.  Desectio  :  L.  mel,  /xcX-t.  G.  bieder,  honest,  from  ancient  bid- 
erb-er  which  is  compound  of  the  prefix  be,  bi  and  derb,  solid,  useful. 


190  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

G.  tan-ne,  instead  of  tannen-baum,  fir-tree,  Celt,  tan,  fire  (compare 
Anglo-Saxon  tyn-an,  kindle,  E.  tin-d-er,  G.  ztin-d-en).  To  this  lopping 
off  our  modern  languages  owe  chiefly  their  form.  Grammatic  and 
other  formative  elements  being  thus  thrown  away,  their  function  must 
be  performed,  in  a  Chinese  manner,  by  an  agglomeration  of  auxiliary 
articles,  pronouns,  prepositions,  verbs,  adverbs,  and  by  other  contriv- 
ances.    E. :   six  o'clock,  altho',  etc. 

T.  Uxtensioj  by  suffixes,  opposed  to  the  preceding.  L.  decern, 
SeKa  (whence  by  No.  3,  and  n  for  m,  the  E.  ten,  G.  zehn,  wherein 
the  h  is  but  a  sign  of  length  of  the  e).  L.  can-is,  Welsh  cwn,  dog ; 
L.  gru-s,  Welsh  gar-an,  crane  ;  etc. 

8.  Contractio  makes  from  Caesar,  G.  Kaiser  the  mis-pronounced 
E.  Seesar,  French  Sesar,  from  kolX.-ov,  L.  coel-um,  E.  coil,  applied  to 
the  sky  or  heaven  (the  former  for  s-k=^ex-c-av  ;  the  latter  from  heave, 
i.  e.  lofty,  which  again,  as  luft,  means  air  in  G.),  we  make  seal-um-, 
from  Kotv-os,  L.  comm-un-is,  E.  coin,  in  L.  applied  to  what  we  call 
supper,  i.  e.,  coen-a,  meal  taken  in  common,*  but  in  E.  applied  to  the 
common  currency  of  money  and  to  the  type  or  stamp  on  it ; — from 
this  we  make,  by  pronouncing  wrongly,  seen-a,  which  coincides  with 
the  pronunciation  of  scena,  o-kyjv-y],  corresponding  with  our  shan-ty, 
shop,  Anglo-Saxon  sceop-a  from  ex-cap-io,  scoop  ;  etc. 

9.  Disiunctio  opposed  to  the  preceding.  Not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  graphic  diaeresis,  f.  i.,  poet,  cooperate,  etc.,  when  they  are 
not  to  be  pronounced  as  if  they  were  pot,  ciiperet  (see  Chapt.  on 
Sounds  and  Letters). 

10.  Transpositio  :  Anglo-Saxon  brid,  E.  bird;  bred,  E.  board 
from  broad  ;  burn  and  bran-d ;  Anglo-Saxon  craet,  E.  cart ;  L.  gran- 
um,E.  corn  also  grain;  Ilpp,  for;  G.  furcht,  E.  fright ;  KapK-tv-os,  L. 
canc-er,  E.  crab ;  Kpcas  and  5apf,  L.  car-o,  flesh  (whence  sarcophag- 
OS,  flesh-eater,  coffin  from  confin  or  cap-io).  The  liquids  are  most 
Hable  to  be  transposed. 

*  Coena,  our  supper  and  tea.  The  former  from  sip,  sap,  whence  L.  sap- 
or, correlate  to  suc-cus  from  sug-o  suck,  and  L.  sap-o,  soap ;  hence  French 
soupe  (compare  sor'-b-eo,  sherb-et.  s  -|-  p,  or  c,  or  r  denoting  the  drawing 
in  through  the  teeth).  Since  tea  became  a  common  evening  meal,  tho 
meal  itself  has  been  called  tea,  from  Chin.  tshi.  Germans  call  the  same 
meal  abend-brod,  evening-bread.  In  Italian  the  breakfast  is  called  coUa- 
zione,  collation,  which  corresponds  witii  the  meaning  of  coena.  The  Esqui- 
maux pray  for  lisli-oil,  the  Africans  for  dates,  instead  of  bread,  in  the  Lord's 
Prayer. 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  191 

!%  11.  Dissectio  :  E.  an  ag,  L.  un-us  equ-us,  by  cutting  n  from  an 
and  joining  it  (No.  1)  to  the  next=nag.  This  is  just  the  opposite  to 
the  adder,  G.  natter-sclilange,  also  corrupted  into  otter  (No.  2).  The 
tmesis  is  commonly  employed  to  denote  not  a  mere  cutting  of  words 
in  twain,  but  this  together  with  an  insertion  of  another  word  or  of 
more  words,  f.  i.,  "  Deficiente  ^ecw  deficit *omne  niaf  E.  which  thing 
soever,  to  them  wards. 

In  French  the  negation  is  conducted  on  this  principle ;  thus :  "  II 
ne  m'en  a  pas  parle."  Although  ne — pas  be  distinct  words,  yet  in 
the  idea  they  are  but  one,  i.  e.,  the  ne  being  the  real  and  only  nega- 
tive, while  pas,  point,  pei-sonne,  rien  (L.  rem,  accusat.  thing),  aucun 
(L.  aliquis  unus)  complete  the  negation,  signifying :  not,  not  at  all, 
nobody,  nothing,  none.  These  words  themselves  are  compound  of 
no  +  aught  (or  odd  dwindled  down  to  H  in  no-t)  G.  n-icht*  French- 
men, whose  language  skips  through  the  nose ;  whose  legs  dance  on 
ropes,  planks ;  whose  politic  institutions  are  a  whirligig ;  who  bear 
themselves  about  (se  portent)  instead  of  do-ing  things  stead-ily,  and 
who  even  come  from  having  died  themselves  ("  il  vient  de  se  mourir") ; 
value,  of  course  a  step  least  of  anything  :  hence  they  say :  *'  Elle  ne 
se  porte  pas  tres-bien  aujourdh'ui,  puisqu'  elle  n'a  pas  recu  ses  quatre- 
vingt-dix-sept  francs,  etc.*  She  no  herself  bears  step  trans- well  on  the 
day  of  to-day,  after-that  she  no  has  step  received  her  four-twenty-ten- 
seven  frees"  =  She  does  not  do  very  well  to-day,  since  she  has  not  re- 
ceived her  97  francs.  The  E.  but,  in  the  sense  of  only,  is  expressed 
in  the  same  way  in  French  :  '^  il  n'a  que  3  sous  =  he  has  but  3  sous. 

Languages  differ  not  by  roots,  but  by  their  fashioning  and  still 
more  by  the  employment  of  both,  the  roots  and  the  words.  Thus  L. 
il-le,  of  the  same  germ  with  lo !  look  (p.  153  Light)  is  split  into  the 
Ital.  article  il  and  lo,  pronoun  egli  (miswritten  by  inserting  ^  for  the 
sake  of  sound;  p.  103);  French  article  le,  pronoun  il,  fem.  elle.  The 
French  tres  from  L.  trans,  beyond,  too,  very.  Puis,  L.  post,  after,  Ital. 
poi.  Span.  pues.  The  tropes  or  turns  called  Metaphora,  transfer ;  Al- 
legoria,  alteration  of  alligated  or  linked  things  (but  a  lengthened 


*  Nox.  vi>|.  G.  nach-t,  nigh-t,  Ital.  not-te.  Span,  noch-e.  French  nuit, 
Dan.  nat.  Swed,  natt,  Slav,  noc, — when  compared  with  the  designation  of 
nothing,  sliow  themselves  to  be  really  the  same  words,  thus  L.  non,  com- 
pare E.  none,  G.  nein  ;  G.  nich-t,  not,  naught,  L.  nih-il,  etc. 


192  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

metaphora) ;  Synecdoche,  cum  +  ex-dic-atio,  as  if  coindication  (the 
whole  for  a  part,  or  this  for  that,  genus  for  species  or  conversely),  and 
others,  are  not  merely  grammatic  or  rhetoric.  They  play  through  the 
whole  range  of  language,  from  the  application  or  appropriation  of 
sounds,  and  roots,  through  words,  to  the  very  phrases.  Please  to 
compare  the  Egyptian  wrfting  p.  82,  with  the  Chinese  p.  85 ;  the 
Hebrew,  Greek,  p.  94,  etc.,  with  all  that  has  been  said  on  the  Germs, 
p.  160,  and  following,  on  the  formation  of  words,  pp.  151,  156,  and 
elsewhere. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  dwell  at  length  on  the  common  modes 
of  derivation,  composition ;  as  their  theories  can  be  found  in  all  books 
treating  on  languages.  In  Sanscrit  compound  words  are  of  four  classes. 
1.  Substantive  nouns  aggregated  under  one  head,  which,  if  not  com- 
pounded, are  held  together  by  a  copulative ;  as  Rama  and  Lakshmana 
=  Ramalaksh-manau.  This  is  termed  Dvandva, '  doubling.'  2.  Nom- 
inal and  verbal  derivatives  combined  in  different  relations,  such  as 
Krishnasraya,  dependence  upon  Krishna.  This  is  named  Tatjniruslia, 
— '  the  man  of  him.'  3.  Association  of  any  given  number  of  terms, 
simple  or  compound,  to  form  an  epithet ;  thus  the  very  name  of  this 
class  jBahuvrihi,  '  that  which  has  much  rice,'  a  field.  4.  Indeclinable 
or  adverbial  compounds,  termed  Avijayi-hhdva^  *  imperishableness,' 
f.  i.,  Upakrishnamardz'una,  Ardz'una  is  near  to  Krishna.  E.  the  ex- 
amples to  the  above  are :  footman,  constitutionality,  omnipresence, 
allraightiness,  intercolumniation,  impenetrabihty  and  innumerable 
others. 

Although  the  Magyar  (p.  103)  belongs  to  another  group  of  lan- 
guages some  examples  of  its  internal  economy,  in  this  respect,  may 
not  prove  unacceptable. 

"  Rendithetlen  dllhatatossdg,  nagy  mer6szs^g,  elvszd,nts!ig  s  eles  clme  bel- 
ycgzik,  majd  dltaldban,  az  Amerikait."  Unshakable  perseverance,  great 
courage,  determination  and  penetrating  mind  characterize,  almost  through- 
out, the  American. 

Analysis.  Rend,  order,  row  ;  with  -it,  shake,  to  rend ;  het,  can  {hat  in 
words  with  the  heavy  vowels,  a,  o,  u),  analogous  with  get,  L.  qu-it,  in  ne- 
quit;  Icn  less  =  rend  +  can -|- not.  A' I,  stand  analogous  metaphorically 
to  L.  al-tus;  hat  (as  above),  at  causative  and  supinifying  (p.  162) ;  as  form- 
ative of  adjectives  (demonstrative)  ;  ^dg,  formative  of  substantives  (L.  «g-o, 
f-ac-io).  Nagy,  L.  mag-nus  (n  and  m  interchange :  Nicolaus,  Magyar  Mik- 
l6s,  Pol.  Mikolaj ;  by  the  by.  Germ.     Klaus,  by  aphaeresis).    The  name  of 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  193 

Magyar  itself  is  a  compound :  of  mag,  seed,  that  which  can  sprout,  mak-e, 
be-get,  akin  in  signification  to  fi4y-as, — and  of  gyar  or  jdr,  to  get  and  go, 
produce,  make  ;  compare  germ,  p.  160,  and  Iceland.  g6r,  ferment,  work,  irk; 
Swed.  gora,  make,  do:  so  that  Magyar  means  great  agriculturist.  Mer-ni, 
to  dare ;  m  -|-  r,  as  if  TTiove-rash  ;  esz  format,  adject. ;  seg  (see  above  sdg, 
the  seg  in  words  with  light  vowels  e,  i,  6,  ii).  Et  preposition,  of,  move; 
szant  (pronounce  sdnt,  for  the  Magyar  s  sounds  like  E.  sh)  akin  to  L.  se-co, 
to  plough  or  cut ;  hence  de-cid-e ;  se-co  being  compound  of  se  asunder  and 
of  c  cut.  S,  in  full  c5,  L.  et.  E^l  live  and  go  through,  as  water  leaks,  hence 
sharp;  es  formative.  El-7ne,  see  on  p.  155  Element.  El,  c/,  elme,  eld,  elsO, 
signify:  of,  life,  chief  element  or  faculty  of  man,  be-fore,  first:  all  being 
strung  on  the  idea  of  liquid  mobility  and  penetration ;  the  -me  formative 
of  substant,  nouns  as  in  L.  gra-men,  sta-men,  li-men,  fora-men,  etc.  Be  in, 
be ;  lyeg,  not  found  in  words,  is  a  by-form  of  lyuk  hole,  akin  to  the  E.  leak 
in  the  sense  of  penetrating  liqu-id ;  eg  Lat.  ag-o;  zik  L.  tang-o,  te-tig-i, 
touch,  and  'tag,  mark:  the  whole  word,  as  it  were  =  in  -[-  leak  -|-  ac-tig. 
Maj-d  by-form  of  mag-nus,  analogous  to  E.  al-most,  which  most  itself  is  but 
a  shrivelled  magis-t;  compare  L.  maj-us,  mai-estas,  French  mais  from 
magis ;  whence  Sp.  mas,  more  ;  but  Ital.  ma,  but ; — d  formative.  Al-t-al, 
the  dl,  akin  to  el,  reduplicated,  but  separated  by  the  formative  -t- ;  d  mark 
of  possessive ;  ban  the  above  be,  accommodated  to  the  vowels,  and  swelled 
by  n.  ♦■ 

As  nations  coin  various  currencies  from  the  same  gold,  silver,  cop- 
per, etc.,  by  imprinting  or  typifying,  tap-ing  their  coats  of  arms  or  other 
devices :  just  so  did  and  do  they  frame  their  tongue,  dialect,  gibberish, 
out  of  one  common  material.  Leibnitz  and  othoi's  might  have  saved 
themselves  the  trouble  of  attempting  to  make  a  new,  and  as  they  be- 
heved,  a  philosophical  or  universal  language.  Monboddo's  (p.  143) 
nation  of  philosophers  would  be  one  of  utopists  or  nowheres,  both  in 
the  field  of  ideas  and  of  tongues.  The  best  and  univei'sal  language 
is  the  essential,  uncorrupted  basis  of  all  human  tongues.  Were  we 
to  lose  speech  to-day,  without  losing  our  other  sensual  and  mental 
faculties,  we  would  again  contrive  the  same  essential  phonetic  groups 
to  replace  it,  which  we  now  possess.  Languages  are  the  result  and 
mirror  and  vehicle  of  all  the  wisdom  and  ignorance  ;  of  the  liberty  as 
well  as  the  slavery  of  mankind ;  of  all  its  geographic,  historic,  social, 
politic,  scholastic,  etc.,  relations,  strivings,  actions,  and  successes ;  in 
short,  they  are  a  picture  exhibiting  the  lights  and  shades,  the  glory 
and  shame  of  each  tribe,  people,  and  nation.  If  we  would  define  the 
intellectual,  moral  and  aesthetic  position  of  a  nation,  we  must  ask  it, 
with  the  old  sage :  Loquere,  ut  te  noscam,  "  Speak  out,  that  I  may 


194  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

know  thee" = tongue  out  thy  log-os  !  E-loqu-ence  is  not  what  we  now 
vulgarly  call  so ;  it  is  not  a  mere  .  . .  rrhea  through  the  mouth,  of 
ear-tickling  words^but  a  turning  out  of  reason,  that  it  may  be  heard. 
In  combination  and  in  inflection  the  vowels  are  subject  to  two 
changes,  or  rather  substitutions,  in  w^hich  other  vowel-forms  take  their 
places,  f.  i.,  written,  writing ;  break,  brittle  ;  shelt-er,  shield,  etc.  They 
are  called,  in  Sanscrit,  Guna,  *  conversion'  and  Vriddki,  *  augmenta- 
tion.' The  former  substitutes  are  a,  6,  6,  ar,  al.  The  latter  ^,  ai,  au, 
^r,  al.  Thus  hhu,  be,  becomes  •  bho,  in  consequence  of  the  concur- 
rence of  a  with  u ;  its  derivative  bhuta^  '  being,  element,'  gives  the 
adjective  bhautika,  *  elementary.'  It  not  being  our  province  here  to 
enter  into  particulars,  we  will  only  invite  the  notice  of  readers  to  the 
circumstance,  that  in  Gothic,  French,  etc.,  also  the  ate  becomes  o  in 
sound,  and  the  ai  turns  into  e.  The  latter  we  find  also  in  Engl.  L 
aur-um,  Fr.  oi*,  gold  whence  orange,  pomum  aurantium.*  L.  aur-is, 
G.  ohr,  ear,  ovs,  euros ;  and  aud-ire,  Fr.  ou-ir,  Sp.  oir,  This  very  ear 
might  be  easily  confounded  with  ear-ly,  aur-is  \vith  aur-um.  How 
do  they  differ  ?  The  former  is  curtailed  by  aphaeresis,  while  the  lat- 
ter is  intact  in  the  root.  Cockneys  say  that  their  "  air  his  blown  ha- 
bout  by  ha  draft  of  ^azV,"  and  although  they  err  in  this  as  in  most 
cases,  having  no  in-her-ent  knowledge  of  their  language,  they  are 
correct  in  calling  a  horse  "  or5^,"  it  being  akin  to  G.  ross,  L.  ors- 
um,  E.  rose,  rode,  rise,  ride.  But,  let  us  return  to  our  subject.  When 
we  hear,  we  do  so  by  the  tremulous  air  being  collected  into  the  shell 
(concha)  of  our  acoiistic  organ.  Now,  L.  haur-io  perf.  haus-i,  is  no- 
thing else  than  the  E.  hous-e,  G.  haus,  and  hos-e,  applied  to  pantaloons 
by  Germans.     Hcer-eo,  hces-i  and  her-es  or  haer-es,  Jieir  are  the  same 


*  Or-ior,  rise;  E.  ear-ly,  L.  aur-or-a,  morning  dawn  =  rise  +  rise.  Au- 
rora with  rosy  fingers.  Hence  ru-ber,  red,  tpv^-phs,  and  p6S-op,  ros-a;  et  L. 
ros,  roris,  dew,  in  which  the  Aurora  twinkles  with  rainbow-colors.  Also 
idea  of  quick  motion :  L.  rutil-us.  and  E.  rush,  rash,  run  rap-id.  Hence 
the  name  of  gold,  which  itself  is  akin  to  yell-ow,  yol-k ;  the  g  interchang- 
ing with  y;  akin  also  to  G.  gel-ten  to  be  of  value,  worth  ;  hence  guil-ty,  i.e. 
worth  of  praise  or  blame.  As  we  have  given  to  words  of  innocent  meaning 
the  opposite  import,  we  have  deteriorated  their  morality.  No  language 
sins  so  much  in  this  tendency  as  the  English.  "  Castis  omnia  costal  Un- 
chaste minds  pervert  allusions  and  sense.  In  a  man,  horse,  pig,  the  same 
nutriment  becomes  man's  horse's,  pig's  blood  and  flesh.  Such  degraded 
words  are :  clown,  churl,  vilain,  quean,  leg,  icight,  fdhw  and  great  many 
others. 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 


195 


root,  i.  e.,  the  complex  of  the  germ  h,  c,  the  symbol  of  cavity  and  of 
r.  A  cockney  "  ears  with  is  heai-s,"  just  as  wo  eye  (see)  with  our 
eyes."  In  short,  the  L.  aiir-is  means  haur-is  or  haus-tor,  i.  e.,  taker, 
sucker,  hose  of  sounds ;  and  the  verb  aud-io  is  but  a  corrupted  aur-io 
(as  meri-dies  is,  conversely,  corrupted  from  mecZi-dies,  mi-di,  midday 
and  south  (see  rhathetk,  p.  173). 

The  most  abundant  source  (from  L.  sur-g-o  =  5wper  +  ago; 
surge*) , of  variety  in  the  Indo-Teutic  languages,  is  the  degree  of  in- 
tensity with  which  the  mute  consonants  are  pronounced.  The  mutual 
substitution  of  gutturals,  labials,  dentals  (p.  75)  amounts  to  nothing 
else  but  to  the  greater  or  lesser  force,  with  which  each  of  them  is  ex- 
ploded, namely,  to  the  divei*sity  of  the  jerk,  or  gest,  or  shake  which 
the  respective  organ  makes  in  uttering  each  one.  As  there  is  not  any 
absolute  difference  in  this  organic  operation,  the  absolute  significance 
remains  unimpaired.  In  speaking  thus  positively,  we  exclude,  of 
course,  all  the  tropic  or  figurative  use  and  abuse  that  is  made  of  the 
chaste  elements.  Jac.  Grimm  gave  the  following  scheme  of  this  me- 
taphony,  to  be  used  in  the  horizontal  direction,  and  not  downwards ; 
whereas  our  table,  on  p.  75,  is  to  be  used  downwards. 


SANS.  GREEK,  LATIN. 

GOTH. 

OLD  HIGH  GERMAN. 

B         G        D 
f        h        ^ 

P     C     T 

P 

B 

/ 

K 

G 

^,9 

T 

D 

f        ch        Z 
P       K        T 

B,V       G,h        D 

Examples.  Kdwa/S-Ls,  Norse  hanp-r,  Ohg.  hanaf,  E.  hemp,  ©o- 
pvfS-rj,  turb-a.  Go.  )?aurp,  OG.  dorof,  now  dorf,  village.  Sta-bul-um, 
OG.  sta-phol,  now  stall,  E.  sta-ble.  ^rjy-bs^  fag-us,  N.  beyk-i,  OG. 
puoch-a,  now  buch,  book,  Slav.  buk.     ^Xiy-u),  used  in  the  sense  of 


*  S-cat-ur-i^-o.  a  fuller  word  for  well,  G.  quelle ;  standing  to  surgo,  as  a 
rosa  centifolia  does  to  a  simple  rose ;  comi)Ound  of  se  -j-  cut  (whence  E. 
scat-t-er,  shatter)  -}-  or  -ior  (ors-um.  ros-e)  -j-  ago,  i.  e.,  arising  actively  and 
being  scattered — all  in  one  group.  Of  words  })arallel  in  meaning,  one  part 
is  often  common,  while  the  other  differs,  thus:  ori-gin^orior  4-  gen-ero 
held  alongside  of  be-gin.  Why  do  we  say  oridz'in.  but  beghin  ?  p.  41, 
101.  bottom. 


196  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

burning,  but  naturally  identic  with  our  flag  (see  Club,  p.  153,  moving 
in  all  directions,  hence  flame),  fla-re,  fla-mma,  OG.  pla-san,  E.  blow, 
as  if  blog,  and  bla-ze.  ^vX-Xov,  fol-ium,  N.  bla-d,  OG.  pla-t,  bla-de 
(akin  to  the  preceding),  ^prj-r-i^p,  used  in  various  forms  as  <^/>a-,  for 
court,  meeting  of  men,  etc.,  but  of  the  same  kidney  with  L.  fra-t-er, 
Go.  bro-thar,  OG.  pruo-der,  now  bru-der,  E.  bro-der  (compare  E. 
bar-n,  bairn,  born  with  Son,  and  with  others,  p.  154).  Nct^e-X-Ty,  i.e., 
ne  +  tj>aL-v(o,  no  +  pa-reo,  rendering  invisible,  L.  ne-bu-la.  Kc<^ 
aX-r;,  cap-ut,  G.  kopf  and  haup-t ;  shrunk  into  E.  hea-d ;  Anglo-Saxon 
heafo-d ;  fertile  root,  furnishing  us  with  cap-s,  cab-b-age,  etc.  (cap  + 
ago,  i.  e.,  make  head,  but  Span,  cab-eza,  head.  Cabbage  is  made 
into  sauer-kraut  =  sower  growth  or  herb,  and  into  cole-slaw  or  ?  slaugh 
==  G.  kohl  salad,  i.  e.,  L.  caul-is  sal-at-us,  salted,  i.  e.,  seasoned  cab- 
bage. Compare  cauli- flower,  i.  e.,  kohl  or  cole,  or  cabbage  whose 
flower  is  edible.  How  much  sower-kraut  and  cole-slaw  is  there  not 
in  many  heads  ?).  Pisc-is,  Go.  fisk-s,  OG.  vise,  fish.  Pec-us  Go.  faih-u, 
OG.  vih-u. 

Pec-or-a,  great,  horned  capital,  shrunk  to  cattle  :  pec-ud-es,  small- 
horned  cattle.  Span,  caudal ;  both  were  used  in  barter,  before  money 
was  coined.  Hence  pec-ulium,  property;  pec-unia,  money;  hen"ce 
E.  fee.  Whence  the  root  Pec  ?  from  germs  p  +  c,  symbolizing  con- 
nexion -f-  bent,  in  tropes  used  for  fat,  well-fed  :  witness  the  following : 
Tray-,  7ra;)(-,  ttck-,  7rr)y-vv-(D,  L.  pang-o,  pe-pig-i,  pac-t-um,  pec- 1- us,  pec- 
t-en  ;  E.  peg,  pack,  bag,  pouch,  paw,  pig,  big,  bow,  bay,  bug,  budg-et, 
pock-et,  etc.  G.  bkuch,  back-en,  etc. ;  also  E.  bak-e,  i.  e.,  to  fix  what 
is  soft ;  hence  L.  fig-o,  fix-us,  fig-ura ;  and  ping-o,  pic-t-us,  pix,  i.  e.,  to 
^x  or  pick  on  colors ;  and  pax,  to  fix  down  by  a  treaty,  to  peg  down 
by  peac-e.  Hence  also  Ttal.  pag-are,  Fr.  pay-er,  to  pay,  i.  e.,  to  peg 
down  or  paci-fy  a  dun  or  creditor.  Hence  pag-us,  canton,  a  collection 
of  fixed  or  settled  people ;  giving  us  the  word  pag-an,  because  country- 
men received  Christianity  later  than  city-people ;  Fr.  paien.  The  Engl. 
call  them  heath-ens  for  having  lived  on  heaths,  where  cognominal  plants 
grow ;  G.  heide.  H-eath  itself  is  but  a  cockneyfied  €^-vos,  nation, 
(from  €-^-09,  manner,  rite)  people  of  one  custom.  At  last  ^  is  the 
pure  dental  germ  indicative  of  set,  sett-led  (p.  1 70).  Thus  ethnic, 
pagan,  heathen,  each  hailing  from  diflferent  germs,  become  synony- 
mous in  the  crucible  of  the  brain  :  just  so  as  Swartwout,  cabal,  the  Fr. 
dindon  (p.  155)  become  significant  by  the  exuberant,  often  petulant, 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  197 

power  of  the  human  mind  which  is  more  peptic  or  concocting  than 
the  stomach  of  an  ostrich.  Though  such  words  be  thus  overcome, 
they  do  not  cease  to  be  but  what  stones  and  axes  are  in  trees,  or  pins 
and  balls  in  the  human  body.  Their  too  great  amount  does  im- 
pair the  energy  of  the  mind,  and  proves  ruinous  to  language. 

Certain  words  predominate  in  certain  languages.  Our  limits  per- 
mit us  to  give  but  the  E.  get  and  the  G.  ziehrexi.  Both,  from  the 
same  germs,  only  inverted.  They  flow,  like  the  Rhone  and  Rhine, 
which  rising  from  the  same  glaciers,  run  diverging  into  difterent  seas. 
Yet  the  Oc-ean  (Aqu-ean,  Sansc.  eka  one,  Magyar  e^y,  eyw.  Sax.  ic. 
Go,  Holl.  ik,  G.  ich,  Swed.jag,  Dan.  jeg,  Slav,  ya.  Span,  yo,  Por.  eu ; 
and  L.  aequ-or  for  mare,  sea  because  of  its  sequal,  even,  level,  Fr. 
unie  surface,  i.  e.,  of  one  appearance)  of  nature  and  of  one  common 
reason  receive  both. 

Get,  f^ot^=go  +  to  =  cau-sQ  +  and  (And,  p.  165)  :  symbol  of  first,  of 
beginning,  tending  to  an  aim,  and  attaining  it.  Hence  God,  and  good.  The 
latter  not  an  epithet  of  sickly  sentimentality,  but  of  reasonable  conscious 
aim-viewing,  of  apt-  or  fit-ness.  The  genuine  appellation  of  God  is  not  he- 
hs,  L.  de-us,  but  our  Teutic  word.  De-us  is  only  our  th-ing  (p.  151)  or  di- 
es, and  Zai  s,  L.  tae-da,  torch,  causing  us  to  see,  heco-peco ;  and  tI-^tj-ihi,  I  set, 
etc.  All  of  these  denote  visible,  stable,  etc.  (p.  170)  phenomena,  or  id-ols, 
at  best.  Causa  renim  is  the  L.  correct  designation  of  God.  Compare  G. 
gat-ten,  gat-tung,  etc.,  gel-ten,  be  worth ;  and  E.  gai-n  (not  the  modern  God 
of  Threadneedle- and  of  Wall  street !),  win;  and  ya-fi,  y^-fx,  yev,  etc. — 
With  get  alone  we  can  get  through  life  and  language,  for  it  is  the  real  punc- 
tum  saliens  of  what  is  called  verb,  living  and  acting  more  than  the  stony, 
only  demonstrative  is  L.  es-se.  This  is  hardened  into  st,  set,  etc.  Ital.  stare, 
Sp.  estar,  used  alongside  of  esse-re,  ser,  etc.  E.  to  stay,  f.  i.,  at  home,  in- 
stead of  to  be  there.  The  Spaniards  employ  qued-SLT,  as  a  variety  of  get 
almost  as  extensively.  In  Lat.  SiC-ced-o,  in-ced-o,  etc.,  is  another  variety, 
i.  e.,  at-get,  in-get,  get  along,  etc. 

Zie/i-en,  pronounced  tsih  and  ground  by  grammar  into  zog,  zug,  zoge, 
ziige,  zeih-e,  zech-e,  etc.,  Teutonic  putrefacts  of  L.  duc-o,  E.  tug,  tough, 
tuck,  tow,  etc.,  L.  tog-a  tunic-a,  i.  e.,  what  is  tugged  around  us,  tucked  up. 
Every  thing  that  can  stand  pulling,  that  goes  from  here  to  there.  Akin  to 
Lat.  dic-ere,  in-dic-are ;  sig-num,  sug-o,  etc.  G.  zeich-en,  zeig-en,  zeug-en, 
seg-nen  (appropriated  by  Catholics  to  blessing,  on  account  of  making  the 
sig-n  of  the  cross,  L.  sign-are),  etc. ;  E.  tok-en,  etc.  (see  dentals  and  gut- 
turals). E-duc-are  will  suffice  as  example  of  figurative  application ;  to 
bring  up  a  child  by  tug-ging  it  out  of  bad  ways,  as  we  do  plants. 

Let  us  look  yet  but  at  two  other  words. 


198  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

Drav),  L.  trah-o,  trax-i,  trac-tum.  What  is  it  but  a  sort  of  compar- 
ative of  the  preceding,  augmented  by  r  7  just  as  duo,  two,  is  made  into  trla, 
three. 

Duo  :  duco  :  :  tria  :  drag  :  :  ad  (E.  at,  to)  :  tra-ns. 

The  last  is  E.  trough  =  trans  -|-  go,  comprehending  the  idea  of  3  =hero 
-f-  medium  -|-  there.  Masks  of  our  drag  are :  dray,  drug,  dreg,  draf-t, 
drai-n,  trai-n,  tray,  draught,  drench,  drein,  dredge,  drough-t,  dry  (i.  e., 
suck-ed  very  much.  Cigar  is  miswritten  with  c  in  S^^an.  Sug-ar,  and  L. 
sic-cus,  dry,  etc.),  etc. 

iiCicA' =  ac-t  +  ac-t=go -|- go,  i.  e.,  cause  another  thing  to  go,  to 
become  an  agent  itself  (similar  to  Fr.  "  faire  faire  une  chose").  Hence  quick, 
kick-ing  and  alive.  A  reduplication  of  the  pure  and  most  significant  germ. 
The  Ge-schich-iQ,  history,  is  the  collection  of  the  documents  and  narrations 
of  all  kick-ings  of  mankind  known  to  us.  Schiller's  "die  Geschichte  ist 
das  Weltgericht,"  History  is  the  judgment  of  the  world,  is  only  a  great 
saying  if  we  conceive  imder  the  former  the  to-^e-ther  (p.  167)  of  all  that 
has  quick-ed  in  humanity,  and  not  merely  as  it  is  written  down,  often  but  by 
perverters  of  truth.  G.  schick-en,  to  send,  and  after  the  first  k  which  has  been 
squashed  here  into  sch  (as  kirk,  E.  church ;  car-us,  Fr.  cher)  has  sunk  low- 
est down  into  j  (as  in  gard-en  yard-en,  jard-in),  we  have  G.  jag-en,  L.  iac- 
ulari,  iac-io,  throw,  chase  (whose  ch  is  a  squash  of  the  first  k,  and  the  s 
the  most  rotten  remainder  of  the  second  k :  Ital.  cacc-'m),  and  jack,  jah, 
sudden,  and  E.  yach-t,  a  fast  sailing  vessel.  In  another,  but  lesser,  disguise 
ge-ske/i-en,  to  happen,  from  which  ge-schich-te  is  commonly  derived  by  not 
very  kick-minded  professors.  L.  Quas-so,  quat-io,  cut-io,  cud-o,  C£ed-o, 
shak-e,  shock,  quash,  are  variations  of  masks.  Compound  s-queez-e  and 
s-quash  ;  G.  quetsch-en,  whence  zwetsch-ke  or  zwetsch-e,  a  prune,  which 
people  use  to  squeez^e,  as  they  do  curdled  milk  into  cheese,  L.  caseus  (Viiio. 
"  pressi  copia  lactis").  Our  shak-e  is  but  the  same  with  the  above  G.  -schich-, 
which  as  schich-te  means  a  stratum,  as  if  it  had  been  strewn  on  a  lower  one, 
by  sifting  (siev-t-ing,  itself  but  shif-ting).  S/iov-e,  G.  schieb-en  is  a  consump- 
tive cousin  to  our  hardy  kick.  L.  ci-ere  ut  ci-cat  might  have  been  used  in 
the  sense  in  question.    With  an  r  the  kick  quirks  in  a  circ-le,  kvk\-os. 

Shifting  of  sounds  from  the  Latin  forms,  in  Ital.,  Span.,  Portug., 
and  French.     The  average  is  as  follows  : 

1.  Vowels, — A  generally  remains,  but  degenerates  most  frequently 
to  e,  ai  in  Fr.,  which  may  be  called  the  E-language, 

I  long  remains ;  the  short  sinks  to  e  and  in  Fr.  also  to  oi ;  the 
long  by  position  becomes  e,  but  remains  also  in  S.  and  P. 

U  long  remains  (but  sounds  u  in  Fr.) ;  the  others  become  o,  but 
in  S.,  P.  they  remain  also ;  in  Fr.  the  short  becomes  ou  (pron.  u). 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  199 

'  E  long  is  constant,  but  also  oi  F. ;  the  short  becomes  ie  in  Ital., 

Span.,  Fr. ;  the  long  by  position  is  maintained,  but  is  also  ie  in  S. 

O  long  constant,  also  eu  Fr. ;  the  short  becomes  uo  Ital.,  ue  Spa. ; 
the  third  is  constant,  but  also  ue  Span. 

JE  diphthong  becomes  7,  and  Fr.  ie,  e  ;  Span,  e,  ie  ;  For.  e, 

(E         "      ^      "  e,         Fr.  e, 

Au       "  "  o,  Portug.  ou, 

n.  Consonants. —  Ca-  constant,  but  also  sinking  to  g  and  in  Fr.to 
cha  ;  the  medial  sinks  mostly  to  -^-,  also  to  -i-,  -cAa-  in  Fr. ;  very  rare 
as  final,  and  in  Fr.  either  dropt  altogether  (f.  i.,  pie^  mie,  laitue,  from 
pica,  mica,  lactuca,  etc.)  or  -c. 

Ce-  is  constant ;  medial  sometimes  -z-  Span.,  For.  and  -s-  Fr. ; 
final  -z  Span.,  Por.,  -s,  -x  Fr. 

Qua  sometimes  g  Span.,  Por.,  Fr. 
s  ,        Que  becomes  often  c,  also  Ital.  ck, 

P'^        Ga-  constant,  also^'-  Fr. ;  medial  constant,  also  lost  in  Ital,  Span., 
Por. ;  i-  andj-  Fr. ;  final  -i  Span.,  Por.,  Fr. 

Ge-  constant,  also  y-  h-  Span. ;  medial  constant  or  lost 

H  drops  off  in  Ital. ;  constant  in  the  others. 

J  constant,  often  gi-  Ital.,  rarer  y  Span. 

P-init.  constant;  medial  -  V-  rarely  Ital.,  often  Fr. ;  -b-  Span.,  Por. ; 
final  -p,  -f  Fr.,  never  elsewhere. 

B-  constant ;  medial  -v-,  but  constant  in  Span,  (where  it  often 
sounds  v)  and  sometimes  in  Ital.,  Port ;  final  -f  Fr.,  never  in  the 
others. 

F  constant,  yet  often  h  Span.,  and  sometimes  F. 

V-  constant,  seldom  b-  Ital. ;  in  the  middle  constant,  or  dropt,  and 
seldom  -b-  Ital. ;  final  /  Fr.,  elsewhere  lost. 

T-  constant ;  middle  sometimes  d  Ital.  and  mostly  so  Span.,  Por., 
drops  Fr. ;  not  final  Ital.,  Por.  d  Span,  drops  Fr. 

D-  constant ;  medial  also,  yet  often  lost  in  Span.,  Por.,  Fr. ;  final 
in  Fr.,  but  also  dropt,  as  in  the  others. 

S-  constant,  also  see-  z-  Ital. ;  x-,  z-  Span.,  Por.,  s-  Fr. ;  medial 
constant  or  -see-  Ital.,  -x-  Span.,  Por.,  -z,  Fr. 

M-  mostly  constant  every  where,  but  also  often  n  ;  medial,  con- 
stant, but  also  n  Fr.;  final  not  Ital.,  Span.,  Port.,  but  nasal  Fr. 
f       N-  constant ;  medial  sometimes  I  in  Ital.,  Span.,  nasal  in  Portug. 
Inhere  it  is  nasal  also  as  final. 


200 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 


L-  initial  remains  in  Ital.,  Fr.,  mostly  in  Span.,  Portug.,  but  also  u 
Span.,  ch  Portug.  In  the  middle  often  gl,  r  Ital.,  II  Span.,  dropt  or 
r,  Por.,  ^7,  r  Fr.     At  the  end  it  is  dropt  but  remains  in  Fr. 

R-  persists  on  the.  whole,  but  is  altered  in  the  middle  into  d,  I,  in 
Ital.,  into  I  in  the  other  languages.  * 

The  following  table  exhibits  the  alterations  of  the  more  import- 
ant Lat.  combinations  as  they  occur  in  the  middle  of  words. 


LATIN. 

ITALIAN. 

SPANISH. 

PORTUG. 

FRENCH. 

Ct 

tt 

ch,t 

it,ut,t 

it,  t 

CS 

ss,  see 

S,  X 

S,  X 

iss,  s 

cl 

gl,  cchi 

j 

Ih 

ill 

to 

gg^ 

ge 

ge 

ge 

see 

see,  st 

X,  ce 

X,  ce 

ss 

Gl 

gl^gghi 

J 

Ih 

ill 

^ 

gn 

n,  in 

nh,  in 

gn,  in 

Pt 

tt 

t,ut 

t,  ut 

t 

ps 

ss 

s 

ss 

iss 

Bt 

tt 

ud 

ud 

d,t 

bs 

ss 

s,  bs 

s,  bs 

s,  bs 

bl 

ul 

ul 

— 

o 

Tr 

tr 

dr 

dr 

ir,  irr 

St 

see 

X 

X 

ss 

sr         f 

— 

— 

— 

str,  tr 

Mt 

nt 

nd 

nd 

nt 

mn 

— 

mbr 

— 

— 

ml 

mbr 

mbl 

mbr 

mbl,  mbr 

mr 

— 

mbr 

mbr 

mbr 

Ng 

ng,gn 

ng,  n 

ng 

ng,  in 

nr 

rr 

ndr,  rn 

(ndr) 

ndr  (nr) 

ns,Rs 

s 

s 

s 

s 

L.  bef.  consonants 

(") 

W 

(") 

u 

"  after       " 

i 

r 

— 

Ir 

rr 

Idr 

— 

udr 

The  less  weighty  (in  our  geneto- organic  sense)  a  sound  is,  the  less 
is  it  liable  to  alteration.  Liquids  and  s  are  most  constant,  less  so/,  v. 
The  guttural  tenues  and  mediae  are  most  ill-treated.     These  phenom- 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  201 

ona  have  been  already  mentioned :  here  we  shall  give  some  sjieci- 
mens. 

Lettei-s  and  whole  syllables  are  sometimes  dropped,  thus  Ital.  sdo- 
gno,  disdegno;  scortose,  discortese;  fante,  Fr.  enfant;  stromento, 
Fr.  instrument;  scipido,  E.  insipid ;  tondo, L.  rotundus  ;  bilico,L.  um- 
bilicus ;  Sp.  cobrar,  L.  re-cuperare ;  P.  doma,  ifiSofxas ;  Fr.  voler, 
barb.  L.  involare,  E.  inveigle,  used  for  to  steal ;  I.  Bastiano,  Sebastian  ; 
P.  decir,  L.  descendere  ;  Fr.  prirent,  L.  prehenderunt. 

Metathesis  affects  mostly  the  liquids  Z,  r,  which  are  attracted  by 
preceding  mutes,  similarly  to  ?',  u.  Examples  of  other  letters  are : 
Ital.  sudicio,  cofaccia,  used  with  sucidio,  focaccia ;  Sp.  cortandos, 
amasdo,  lano,  leTio,  with  cortadnos,  asmado,  llano,  lleno. 

Italians  are  too  fond  of  double  consonants ;  hence  they  keep  the 
L.,  and  add  their  own  where  there  are  single  consonants  in  it.  Sp.  has 
inm-  most  frequently  for  L.  imm-,  thus :  inmobil,  inmortal,  etc.  In 
For.  there  is  a  wavering  between  simple  and  double  consonants :  ac- 
cordar,  diferir  and  soccorrer,  collocar,  etc.  Only  few  Fr.  words  abstain 
from  duplication,  thus  secouer  (succutere),  secourir  (succurrere),  souple 
supplex),  but  double  in  supplier  (supphcare). 

Dissimilar  or  heterogeneous  sounds  are  sometimes  generated  in 
the  derived  languages,  in  consequence  of  the  various  accidents  enu- 
merated on  p.  189  and  elsewhere.  Hence  Fr.  rage,  cage,  from  L. 
rab-ies,  cav-ea ;    fait,  point  from  fact-um,  punct-um. 

The  Ital.  likes  assimilation  and  is  faithful  to  the  L.  derivative  vow- 
els. It,  therefore,  stands  in  no  need  of  adventitious  sounds,  f.  i.,  uomini, 
homines,  where  Sp.  has  hombres.  In  the  softening  of  Z,  however,  to 
i  after  p-,  b-,  f-,  c-,  g-,  it  deviates  from  its  constancy,  f.  i.,  piano,  biasimo, 
fiore,  chiamare,  ghiaccio,  Fr.  plan,  blame,  lleur,  L.  clamare,  glacies.  As 
i  is  also  the  ending  of  the  masculine  plural  of  nouns  and  of  the  second 
pei'son  singular  of  verbs,  we  might  call  the  Italian  the  I-language. 

The  French,  rejecting  the  toneless  final  vowel,  sticks  to  the  conso- 
nant in  the  beginning  and  middle,  in  sound  as  w^ell  as  in  writing,  but 
at  the  end  in  writing  only.  As  by  contraction  incompatible  elements 
often  concur,  ^,  u  become  vicegerents  of  consonants,  thus  in  nuit, 
noct-e ;  cowde,  cubit-u ;  dot^te,  duhium,  rather  dubitat-o ;  ow,  vel,  or ; 
ow,  ubi,  where.     S.  and  P.  keep  the  middle  between  F.  and  I. 

In  all  languages  there  is  even  a  tendency  to^  assimilate  sounds  of 
.    different  organs,  gainst  their  original  significancy,  thus  It.  Giambat- 
10 


202  WORDS    AND   IDIOMS. 

tiftta  for  Gian  B.,  John  Baptist ;  F.  ponce,  L.  pnm5c-e.  Sounds  of 
different  intensity  are  also  equalized,  f.  i.,  Sp.  cabdal  and  caudal,  L. 
capitalis;  debdo,  and  deuda,  debitum;  cibdad  and  ciudad,  civitas. 

Peculiar  transformations  are :  S.  malacho  and  malato,  sick  from 
barb.  L.  malaptus  (E.  malady) ;  caxa  and  caja,  Fr.  cLase,  from  L.  cap- 
sa ;  I.  schiantare  from  explantare ;  F.  chartre  for  charcre ;  I.  secchia, 
L.  situla ;  F.  craindre,  L.  tremere,  etc.  All  these  may  be  considered 
as  monstres. 

Among  the  strongest  evolutions  of  sounds  are  :  the  S.  ch  from  ct, 
It,  through  it,  tj,  f.  i.,  fecho,  mucho,  through  feito  (F.  fait),  muy-to, 
from  factum,  raultum  ; — the  aspir.  j  or  x  from  cs,  cl,  through  is,  il, 
later  ?j,  Ij,  thus :  ejemplo,  espejo,  hijo,  from  L.  exemplum,  speculum, 
filius ; — P.  hissing  a?.  It.  sci  from  cs,  sc,  st ; — P.  ch  from  cl,  through  Ij, 
and  from  pl ; — the  I  mouille  (p.  103)  of  these  languages,  from  gl,  cl, 
pl,  tl,  by  a  summerset  (super-  salt-us,  F.  soubresaut)  of  the  same  sort 
as  the  Engl,  wh-  pronounced  hu-  in  who^  which^  when,^ 

A  specimen  of  the  sinking  of  significant  organic  sounds  into  in- 
significant, even  contra-significant  ones,  may  be  seen  in  the  squashing 
of  the  ancient  guttural  qui.,  que.,  ci,  ce  into  dental  hissing  sounds. 
This  corruption  might  be  called  a  dentification  of  the  heart,  or  an 
out- turning  of  the  internal,  a  seeking  of  the  centre  in  the  periphery. 
L.  querquedula,  centum,  qui,  became  thus  Fr.  cercelle,  cent,  ci.  Even 
ca,  CO,  cu  (though  preserved  in  E.  utterance  in  cairn,  caitiff,  coil,  but 
not  in  Kato-ap,  G.  ^^aiser,  Caesar ;  caelum,  which  sound  Sisar,  silum) 
sank  to  the  Fr.ch,  and  to  E.  tsh.  In  Fr.  Sp.  qui,  que,  the  u  is  now  si- 
lent, not  so  in  It.  E.,  but  still  it  retains  the  sound  of  k  (p.  43,  120,  foil.). 

Specimens  of  other  deviations  are :  It.  alloro,  laurus ;  anari,  nares ; 
aneghittoso,  neglectus ;  S.  acitron,  citrus  ;  azufre,  sulphur ;  P.  alagoa, 
lacuna;  alampada,  lampas  (probably  this  a-  from  Arab,  article  a/,  el). 


*  \Vh-,  by-form  of  L.  qu-,  cu-,  A.-Sax.,  Dan.,  Swed.,  etc.,  Ar-,  as  symbol 
of  liidden,  internal,  question,  guess,  of  curvature,  coil,  etc.  (see  guttur.  p. 
75,  164, 166),  in  the  above  words,  and  in — what,  where,  whether,  etc.,  wheel, 
wheedle,  whip,  whirl,  whelm  (L,  culm- en),  etc. ;  L.  qiiis,  quod,  quando,  ali- 
cu-bi,  etc. ;  A.-S.  hva,  hvilc,  hvaenne,  etc.  Were  we  to  write  the  other 
combinations  with  -w  in  the  same  modern  fashion,  as  we  do  who,  wheel,  etc., 
we  should  liave  wto,  wddl,  ii'sinf(,  etc.,  instead  of  two,  dwell,  swing,  etc. 
Does  the  m-  in  what  we  boastingly  proclaim  to  be  an  n^provement,  signify 
negation  (as  in  impossible),  or  the  opposite  to  out.  exl  (as  in  mpart,  in- 
quire).  in  other  words,  does  our  writing  who,  whale,  whole,  etc.,  mean  no- 
provementl  or  cr-provemcnt  1    It  is  certainly  no  amerfeinent. 


WORDS    AND   IDIOMS.  203 

I  jE',  i,  are  prefixed  in  these  languages,  as  well  as  in  Chin.,  Japan.,  Mon- 
I  gel,  Osmanli,  Magyar,  and  many  others,  to  the  so-called  s  impure^  i.  e., 
to  s  wliich  is  immediately  followed  by  a  consonant :  hence  It.  is- 
tante,  S.  espejo,  Fr.  esprit,  E.  estate,  <fec.  Now,  again  dropping  the 
significant  s,  but  keeping  the  euphonic  e,  the  French  mark  that  loss 
by,  what  they  wrongly  term,  the  accent  aigu  (^),  thus  obtaining :  6te 
(S.  estado,  and  L.  sq^tate),  been  and  summer ;  Etienne,  Stephen ; 
ecole,  school,  etc. 

There  is,  indeed,  an  unaccountable  hallucination  as  regards  those 
three  marks  which  are  termed  accents  in  French  (/  ,  \,  A).  Although 
they  never  were  intended  to  designate  the  real  accent,  i.  e.,  intonation 
of  stress  of  certain  syllables,  but  only  to  mark  omissions  of  sounds  or 
of  syllables,  and  although  they  were,  in  consequence  of  that  their  genu- 
ine destination,  abused  for  marking  also  the  quality  of  the  e  (e  sharp, 
e  flat,  e  flattest)  ;  they  are  now  forced  upon  learners  as  marks  of  real 
accents !  It  may  suffice  to  say :  1st  a)  that  such  Fr.  words,  as  have  none 
of  the  above  marks,  have  yet  an  accent,  by  which  many  are  distin- 
guished from  otherwise  perfectly  equal  (in  writing  and  sound)  words 
in  other  languages  (f.  i.,  possible,  E.  possible),  or  from  almost  equal 
words  (thus  sentiment,  compliment) ;  2d  h)  that  if  those  marks  were 
accents,  such  words  as  celebrite,  ete,  celebre,  etc.,  would  have  2  and  3 
accents,  which  is  as  absurd  as  to  affirm  that  the  top  of  a  pyramid,  or 
obelisk,  is  3  tops  !  In  celebrite  the  last  e  is  the  rehc  of  L.  -at-e  (ce- 
lebritate),  whereas  the  two  preceding  ones  are  but  sharp  e-s,  as  the 
word  could  not  be  conveniently  pronounced  with  two  consequent  e 
muets.  In  ete  the  second  e  is  the  rehc  of  -at-o,  and  of  -at-e,  the  first 
being  the  relic  or  rather  remembrancer  of  the  s.  In  pere,  mere, 
frere,  arriere,  etc.,  a  -t-  has  been  dropt  (patres,  ad  +  retro,  E.  rear) ; 
in :  il  se  promene,  the  e  marks  the  hea\^  flat  sound ;  bete,  fenetre,  fut, 
fumes,  aumones,  sur,  ane,  ame,  mur,  etc.,  come  from  bestia,  fenestra, 
old  Fr.  fust,  fusmes,  eXerjfjLoavvrj  (alms),  L.  securus,  asinus,  anima,  ma- 
turus. 

The  student  is  not  only  misinstructed,  but  he  is  sent  on  a  false 
track,  and,  instead  of  profiting  by  the  marks  misnamed  accents,  he  is 
deprived  of  the  only  sure  means  of  conciliating  the  historic  forms  of 
the  language  among  themselves,  and  the  co-existent  collateral  forms 
with  their  mates ;  as  well  as  defrauded  both  of  the  deeper  and  of  the 
higher  views  which  w^ould  infallibly  show  him  the  links  that  bind  the 


204  WORDS    AND   IDIOMS, 

French  with  other  tongues.     The  same    holds  good,  more  or 
with  other  languages,  in  this  respect  and  in  great  many  othera. 

Further  examples  oi  euphonic  or  of  erroneous  accessories  (p.  172) 
are  :  Provenq.  brugir,  Fr.  bruir  (rugire).  It.  Sp.  brusco  (ruscum) ;  It 
gracimolo  and  racimolo  (racemus,  E.  raisin),  Fr.  grenouille  (ranicula), 
grivoise  (G.  reibeisen,  grater,  L.  rasor),  S.  huebra  and  guebra  (opera), 
hueso  (os,  bone),  hiermar  (l/ae/xo?) ;  P.  haz  (acies),  hir  (ire),  hum 
(unus) ;  Fr.  haut  (altus),  houblon  (lupulus ;  hop,  h  -(-  up  as  in  hope, 
hobby,  hobble,  iTTTros?),  huitre  (ostrea),  huit  (octo),  etc.,  probably  not 
without  some  influence  of  Germ,  hoch,  hopfen.  Fr.  tante,  obsol.  ante 
(amita,  aunt*),  where  -t-  may  be  but  a  euphonic  expedient,  thus  ma-t- 
ante,  instead  oimon-ante  (p.  176) ;  P.  dorna  (urna),  Fr.  dorer  (aur-are), 
It.  nabisso,  ninferno  (in  abysso,  in  inferno),  Fr.  nombril  (umbilicus, 
navel) ;  It.  lero  (il  ervo),  lunicorno  (il  unicorno) ;  P.  leste  (el  este, 
east),  Fr.  lendit  (art.  and  indictum),  herre  (art.  and  hedera),  luette 
(art.  and  uvula).  j 

EupJionic  insertions  :  of  P :  old  Sp.  compezar  for  comenzar  ^ 
(cum  in  itiare),  Fr.  dompter  (domitare,  to  tame;  p.  174  Chambre) ; 
of  M  :  It.  campidoglio  (capitoHum),  bambino  (baby),  S.  embriaco  (ebri- 
us),  bimbrar  (vibrare),  Fr.  Embrun  (Eburodunum).  Similarly  in  L, 
Gr.,  G. :  cumbo,  fimbria,  lambo,  hmpidus,  membrum,  nimbus,  sambu- 
cus ;  cro/x^os,  crro/x^o?,  rvfjiTravov ;  G.  samstag  (sabs-tag,  shabes-daj'), 
trampeln  (trappeln),  etc.  F.  flambeau  (flamma)  ;  of  G :  P.  amargo 
(amarus),  avarga  (avara) ;  of  D :  in  S.  bulda  (bulla),  celda  (cella), 
humilde  (humilis)^;  of  S :  F.  lasneur  (worker  in  wool ;  lana),  visne 
(vinea),  cosme  (coma),  nosme  (nomen),  pasmoier  (palma,  hence  to 
seize),  pasle  now  pale  (pallidus),  paesle  now  poele  (patella),  etc.  old 
forms  which  are  betrayed  by  the  modern  rene  (retineo),  rold,  etc.  On 
the  columna  rostrata  (p.  98)  already:  triresmos, and  in  ancient gram- 


*  Ant,  L.  formica,  are  full  of  instructive  power.  Ant,  emmet,  from  G. 
ameis-e,  through  am's-e  which  is  =  amass,  in  the  following  masquerades. 
G.  s  corresponds  most  frequently  with  E.  t,  thus  das,  was,  es,  wasser,  bes- 
ser,  hat,  liebt  or  liebet,  dcnkt  or  denket,  etc.,  are  in  E.  that,  what,  it,  wa- 
ter, better,  has,  loves,  thinks  or  loveth,  etc.  :  the  m  before  s  and  t  becomes 
n  :  hence  am's,  ant  (just  as  L.  amita,  aunt).  Amass  is  a  compound  of  L. 
ad  -{■  massam  =  to  -\-  mass,  or  what  mounts  or  is  growin*^  (magis,  S.  mas). 
For  -\'  niica^=fcrveo,  fremo  -{-  mag-nus,  or  lUL-nx-o-yrj ,  or  E.  mak-e,  i.-e.,  the 
bearing,  frequent  or  diligent,  lively  and  moving,  making  animal.  Mvpfxr)^ 
is  but  a  by-form.    Compare  L.  form-a,  fiopip-^. 


WORDS    AND   IDIOMS.  205 

marians :  du^mosus,  co^mittere,  poe^nis,  with  intercalated  5,  and  ca^- 
nar,  lusna,  etc.,  for  caxinarc,  luxina ;  of  Sg  :  F.  diner,  to  dine,  obs.  dis- 
gner,  derived  by  some  pei-sons  from  the  first  words  of  the  blessing 
before  the  meal  "  dignare  domine"  (more  probably  from  c?^-es,  day 
and  G.  essen,  to  eat,  as  if  di  +  esn-er,  to  eat  in  the  day)  ;  of  N : — 
It.  lontra  (Intra),  rendere  (reddere),  inverno  (hibemum),  S.  manzana 
(mattiana,  apple),  ponzona  (potio,  poison),  alondra  (alauda,  lark),  son- 
reir  (surridere),  cansar  (qnassare,  p.  198),  alcanzar  (cazar,  to  chase; 
ibid.),  ensayo  (e^aytov,  a  kind  of  weight ;  hence  essay),  mancha  (ma- 
cula), ninguno  (nee  unus),  obsol.  hedant  (aetat-em)  ensiemplo,  enxal- 
tamiento ;  P.  enxame,  enxuto  (exsuccus),  enxungdia  (axungia) ;  Fr. 
rendre,  Angouleme  (Iculisma),  jongleur  (joculator),  langouste  (locusta). 
InLat.iVis  thus  inserted  in  :  centum,  findo,  fundo,  scindo,  tundo,  den- 
sus,  broncus,  runco,  sancio,  linquo,  frango,jungo,  langueo,  ringo,  pango, 
pingo,  plango,  pungo,  tango,  pingo,  stinguo,  stringo,  ungo  (p.  21,  lin- 
gua ;  76  bottom,  and  77  top ;  119  and  120 ;  171) ;  an  I:  It.  inchios- 
tro  (ey/cavcTTov),  ink,  fiavo  (favus),  chioma  (coma),  where  the  i  stands 
for  parasitic  L,  as  Fr.  enclume  (incudin-em),  esclandre  (o-KavSaXov) ;  an 
R :  It.  brettonica  (betonica),  fronda  (funda),  tromba  (tuba),  tronare  (to- 
nare),  anatra  (anatem),  giostra  (juxta,  E.  jostle.  Fr.  jouter);  S.  bruxula 
(buxula,  Fr.  boussole,  E.  box),  estrella  (stella,  star),  obsol.  adelantre 
for  adelante  (=a  +  de  +  el  -{-  ante),  onestamentre ;  Fr.  tresor  (Stj- 
(Tavpb<; ;  ^€(0,  pono  +  aurum),  epautre  (spelta),  etc. ;  medieval  L.  Tar- 
tarus, name  of  a  nation,  instead  of  Tatar  (confounded  with  tartar-us 
infernal  region,  which  is  but  a  reduplication  of  ter  +  ter-ra,  earth) ; 
and  ostreum  (oo-Tiov).  In  ancient  Fr.  a  T  was  sometimes  applied  to 
final  n,  thus :  Moisant,  tirant,  chambellant,  etc.  (from  Moise,  Tvpav-vos, 
as  E.  gown^ ;  G.  niemanc?) ;  or  C,  thus :  frainc  (fren-um),  plonc 
(plumb-um),  etc. 

C :  Gaieta,  It.  Gaeta. — Catus,  It.  gatto,  S.  gato,  P.  cat,  gat,  Fr. 
chat. — Cavea,  It.  gabbia,  S.  gavia,  P.  gabia,  Fr.  cage. — 'EkkXtjo-lo^  It. 
chiesa,  S.  iglesia,  P.  gleira,  Fr.  eglise. — In  cumulare,  I.  ingombrare. — 
Classicum,  It.  chiasso,  Fr.  glas. — Lactuca,  It.  lattuga,  S.  lechuga,  Fr. 
laitue. — Nucalis,  P.  nogalh,  Fr.  noyau. — Implicare,  I.  impiegare,  S.  em- 
plear,  P.  empleyar,  F.  employer  and  plier. — Sunk  to  i,  y,  even  drop- 
ped in  P.  F.,  thus  L.  mica,  mia,  mie ;  Praeconium,  Fr.  prone ;  Secu- 
rus,  sur  ;  Sacramentum,  serment ;  Verruca,  verrue. — Final  lost,  thus 
L.  die,  fac,  per  hoc,  nee,  sic,  became  in  It.  di,  fa,  pero,  ne,  si ;  S.  di, 


206  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

pero,  ni,  si ;  L.  amic-us,  foc-us,  loc-us,  Fr.  ami,  feu,  lieu,  etc.  Ca  be- 
came Fr.  cli  mostly  with  -a,  thus :  chance  (cadentia),  changer  (camb- 
ire),  chien,  charme,  chou  (cauhs),  chose  (causa),  coucher  (collocare), 
perche  (pertica),  etc.  But  few  words  keep  c,  thus  :  caillou  (calculus), 
cable  (capulum),  of  which  many  are  of  recent  date,  and  parallel  to 
older  formations,  as :  cadence,  canaille,  cause.  Thus :  chomraer  and 
calme;  chambre,  camarade ;  champ,  camp ;  chetif,  captif ;  chevre,  ca- 
price ;  cheval,  cavallerie. — C  unaltered  when  originating  from  co,  cu, 
thus :  earlier  (coagulare),  cour  (cohors),  couver  (cubare),  coutre  (cus- 
tos). — It.  hisses  in  some  foreign  words,  as :  ciambra,  F.  chambre ;  ciap- 
perone,  chaperon ;  S.  champion,  chaperon,  chapitel,  bachiller,  concha, 
etc.  P.  is  nearer  to  F.  in  this. — It.  zeppa  (cippus),  donzello  (gloss,  do- 
minicillus),  dozzi  (duodecim),  vezzo  (vicis),  abbragiare  for  abbracciare, 
augello  (avicella),  Fr.  oiseau  ;  congegi^are  (concinnare).  Fr.  plaisir 
(placere),  voisin  (vicinus),  sangle  (cingulum),  genisse  (junicem),  poussin 
(pullicenus).  S.  chico  (ciccum,  trifle,  Fr.  chiche,  avaricious),  chinche 
(cimicem).  Fr.  farouche  (ferox,  fierce).  It.  sorcio,  sorgo  and  sorco, 
Fr.  souris  (sorex,  mouse) ;  giuschiamo  (voo-Kva/xos,  swine-bean),  scojat- 
tolo  (cTKiovp-os,  shade-tail,. squ  -|-  ir-rel,  Fr.  ecureuil) ;  S.  lagarto  (la- 
certo,  lizard ;  long  and  quick ;  hence  al-ligator). — C  entirely  lost  in  : 
It.  dire,  fare,  etc. ;  sunk  to  i  in  P.  pleito  (placitum,  hence  E.  plead)  ; 
Fr.  faire,  luire,  taire,  loire  (licere),  poitrine  (pectore).  S.  colcha  (cul- 
cita).  Fr.  brebis  (vervex,  sheep). — Ct  becomes  It.  atto  (actu,  but 
also  apto),  fatto,  etc. ;  S.  efeto,  matar  (mactare) ;  P.  fruto,  fruit ;  Fr. 
contrat,  efiet,  roter  (ructare) ;  Lat.  already :  gluttio  with  gluctio  (glo- 
cire,  to  cluck ;  hence  galHna),  natta  and  nacta,  sictis  with  sitis  (siccus), 
artus  and  arctus,  fultus  and  fulctus,  etc. — S.  auto  (actus),  P.  deitiir 
(deiectare),  noite  (nocte),  oito  (octo),  outubro  (october),  direito,  estrei- 
to,  doutor  (doctor),  coito,  condoito,  auqom  (actio),  autivo  (activus), 
contrauto  (p.  71). 

Further  examples.  Fr.  fr^ne  (fraxinus),  boussole  (barb.  L.  buxula) ; 
It.  sciame,  scialare,  sciagurato  or  sciaurato  (examen,  exhalare,  exaugu- 
ratus),  sciocco  (exsuccus),  miccia  (/xi;^a,  moxa,  S.  mecha,  Fr.  m^che,  « 
E.  match) ;  S.  llamar.  Have,  Haga,  Hover,  llama  (P.  chamar,  chave, 
chaga,  chover,  chama :  It.  chiamare,  chiave,  piaga,  piovere,  fiamma ; 
L.  clamare,  clavis,  plaga,  pluere,  flamma)  in  dialects  also :  xamar,  etc 
It.  oreglia  (S.  oroja,  P.  orclha,  Fr.  orcille,  L.  auricula),  Aosta  (Augusta 
praetoria) ;  S.  Saragoza  or  Saragossa  (Caesar  Augusta).   F.  jauue,  obsol. 


WORDS   AND    IDIOMS.  207 

jaulne  (galbinus,  gilvus,  E.  yellow,  yolk).  It.  coitare,  dito,  freddo, 
reina  and  regina  (cogitare,  digitus,  frigidus;  S.  cuidar,  dedo,  frio, 
reyiia;  Fr.  doigt,  froid,  reine) ;  S.  yelo,  yerno,  yeso,  yegua  or  hielo, 
hierno,  hieso  (gelu,  gencr,  gypsum,  equa),  and  hermano,  liinojo,  or 
obsol.  ermano,  ynojo  (P.  irmao  or  germaho,  geolho;  L.  gcrmanus, 
genu  and  geniculum).  It.  Baldacco  (Bagdad),  smeraldo,  raandola 
(smaragdus,  S.  esmeralda ;  L.  amygdala,  S.  almendra,  P.  amendoa ; 
E.  almond  ;  Fr.  emeraude,  amande) ;  S.  tamano,  purio  (L.  tam  mag- 
nus,  pugnus),  etc.  H,  Y,  V  (and  modern  W)  are  either  drop- 
ped or  added,  both  in  ancient  and  modern  forms,  thus  L.  ancient  in- 
scriptions, offer:  ic,  aduc,  eredes,  onestus  (instead  of  hie,  adhuc, 
heredes,  honestus),  and  hobitus,  hornamentum  (instead  of  obitus,  or- 
namentum.  London  cockney  :  ave,  air,  etc.,  for  have,  hair).  S.  has  both 
hasta,  hora,  honor  and  asta,  ora,*onor;  both  hierba  and  yerba;  Fr. 
iver,  orge,  on  (L.  hibernus,  hordeum,  homo).  Engl,  ox  has  lost  y  (L. 
jug-um,  yoke),  ^n  animal  that  is  yok-ed ;  but  wax  has  added  \v  (L. 
augeo,  aux-i,«uc-tum ;  rootac,  germ  k,  the  same  with  the  preceding). 
Thus  Swed.  ar,  year,  G.  jahr ;  Swed.  and  Dan.  ord,  word ;  Dan.  orra, 
worm ;  Sw.  ort,  G.  wurz-el,  A.-S.  wyrt,  by  dropping  w-,  and  transpos- 
ing, E.  root,  L.  rad-ix  (whence  G.  ge-wiirz,  aroma  ==  collection  of 
worts),  etc. 

Exchange  betw^een  L  and  R,  M  and  N,  is  very  frequent.  Thus  E. 
pilgrim,  per-egrin-us  (L.  per-agro,  through  fields  go)  metamorphosed 
into  foreign  (7rop€vo-fj.aL,  fare,  G.  Miren.  Akin  to  fero,  bear  and  L.  • 
per  =  germs  p  -(-  r).  S.  pehgro  (periculum,  periclitor),  milagro  (mi- 
raculum).  It.  rossignuolo,  and  lusignuolo,  usignuolo  (S.  ruisenor,  P. 
roxinol,  F.  rossignol  and  lousignol,  from  L.  lusciniola,  as  it  were  lusty 
singer).  S.  lirio,  mesparo  (P.  nespera,  Fr.  nefle ;  L.  lilium,  Xcipiov ; 
mespilus).  Fr.  apotre,  epitre,  titre,  chapitre,  esclandre  {olttootoXos, 
iTTiaToXr],  titulus  capitulum,  scandalum).  L.  coeruleus  from  coeluleus 
(blue,  sky-color),  Parilia  and  Pahlia. — S.  nutria  (lutra).  Fr.  niveau, 
nappe  (libella,  E.  level ;  mappa). — E.  sun  (sol)  and  summer  (sun-ner) 
and  L.  ser-enus  (akin  to  E.  sear,  dry) :  Avhere  all  4  liquids  play  into 
one  another. 

Portug.  shuns  1  and  n,  either  by  throwing*  them  out  or  by  substi- 
tuting kindred  sounds,  thus  :  aguia,  caiidrn,  cor,  debeis,  dor,  and  do, 
pego,  saude,  voar,  cabido,  diabo,  mix,  mo,  luu,  pa,  so,  povo; — Alhco, 
area,  boa,  cadea,  cca,  geral,  lua,  mocda,  pcssoa,  p6r,  saar,  semear, 


208  WORDS   AND   IDIOMS. 

soar,  ter,  vir,  c^o,  coraqao,  ni'So,  sao,  gr^o,  escrivao,  etc.  (L.  aquila, 
candela,  color,  debiles,  dolor,  pelagus,  sal  us,  volare,  capitulum,  diabolus, 
mala,  mola,  mulus,  pala,  scJus,  populus ; — Alienus,  arena,  bona,  cate- 
na, coena,  generalis,  luna,  moneta,  persona,  ponere,  sanare,  serainare, 
sonare,  tenere,  venire,  canis,  cor,  manus,  sunt,  granum,  and  S.  escrib- 
ano  E.  scrivener). — It  also  substitutes  often  m  for  n,  thus:  fim, 
hum,  sem,  som,  bom,  jejum,  tern,  amarom  (finis,  unus,  sine,  sonus, 
bonus,  jej unus,  tenet,  amarunt,  S.  amaron),  which  in  many  words 
seems  to  be  the  termination  of  the  L.  accusative  singular,  as  in — hom- 
em,  imagem,  margem,  ordem,  razom,  etc.  (liominem,  imagincm,  mar- 
ginem,  ordinem,  rationem, — S.  razon,  F.  raison,  E.  reason). 

L.  sinks  in  Fr.  to  u  after  vowels  and  before  consonants ;  it  returns, 
nowever,  as  soon  as  this  condition  ceases,  f.  i.,  mauvais,  autre,  doux, 
foudre,"^  moudre,  vaudra,  poudre,  absoudre,  animaux,  il  faut,  etc., 
(male  +  volens,  alter,  dulcis,  fulgur,  molere,  valebit,  pulv-ere,  absolv- 
ere,  Engl,  animals,  Fr,  falloir).  Hence  and  from  the^ature  of  the 
real  accent  (not  the  / ,  \,  A)  all  so-called  irregularities  of  the  gram- 
marians of  the  French  and  of  the  other  languages  of  Western  Europe, 
are  to  be  explained.  Far  from  being  irregularities,  they  are  just  the 
organic  (i.  e.  irking)  and  genetic  (i.  e.  producing,  generating)  causes 
of  all  the  phenomena  of  these  languages :  they  are  more  than  their 
rules,  being  their  father  and  mother.  Without  them,  the  French, 
Ital.,  Sp.,  Port.,  Engl.,  etc.,  dialects  would  never  have  appeared  among 
the  existing  things.  To  call  these  absolute  conditions  of  existence — 
of  these  bias-spoken/  squinting,  slanting-ofF  languages — irregul antics, 
amounts  to  the  same  thing,  as  if  we  called  all  disposing  and  produ- 

*  In  words  of  ancient  formation  this  phenomenon  holds  good,  but  not 
so  in  those  of  recent  fashioning,  thus:  malveillant,  alterer,  etc.  It  may  bo 
laid  down  as  a  law,  that,  as  our  modern  languages  owe  their  origin  but  to 
mistakes,  abuse,  ignorance,  bad  taste,  pedantry  and  false  learning, — their  old- 
er forms  are  more  corrupt  when  compared  with  the  prototypes,  than  those  of 
later  fabric.  Yet  both  periods  of  formation  are  monuments  of  degradation  : 
since  the  more  correct  modern  cut  of  words  is  not  carried  through  with 
consistency.  Such  is  the  character  and  such  are  the  results  of  all  our  half 
reforms  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  modern  times.  They  are  but  a  sort  of 
epilepsy  or  catalepsy  or  some  such  nervous  anomaly  in  the  minds  of  both 
the  reformers  themsclves*and  of  the  "  would-be"  infallible  many  (i.  e.,  po- 
pulus, ol  TToKKoL,  mobile  vulgus).  Displeased  with  what  is  old  but  not  well 
appreciated ;  afraid  to  trust  to  the  eternal  infallible  laws  of  God,  working 
in  their  bratns  and  hearts;  afraid  one  of  the  other;  tln^y  bring  about  but 
jarring  convulsions,  etc.,  without  a  radical  cure.  Witness  the  French 
revolutions,  etc. 


I 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  209 

cing  causes  of  all  other  beings  also  irregularities.  These  are  such  only, 
when  we  compare  these  dialects  with  their  prototypes,  at  the  points  of 
starting  from  them,  but  never  after  these  dialects  had  commenced  to 
be  framed :  for  then  these  veiy  irregularities  become  the  laws  of  the 
dialect.  Every  nation  dipped  into  the  common  and  universal  caldron 
of  human  speech  its  peculiar  spoon  or  mould,  and  got  thence  its  pe- 
culiar dialect  or  lingo,  which  it  afterwards  treated  according  to  ^the 
same  idiosyncrasy  (own  com  +  mixture)  with  which  the  dip  was 
made,  more  or  less  reasonably. 

The  Port,  substitute  more  frequently  than  any  other  nation,  R  for 
L,  f.  i.,  praga  and  pra}  a  nobre,  regra,  pranto,  prazer,  brando,  fraco, 
froxo,  cremencia,  branco,  etc.  (plaga,  nobilis,  regula,  planctus,  placere, 
blandus,  flaccus,  fluxus,  dementia.  It  bianco,  Fr.  blanc).  Ital.  also  in 
some  words :  fragello,  afrigere,  sprendido,  scramare,  semprice,  esem- 
pro,  obriganza,  etc.,  S.  engrudo  (gluten),  etc.  Compare  E.  colonel, 
where  the  fimt  1  sounds  r,  as  if  the  word  were  kernel. 

This  may  suffice.  The  reader  must  use  his  brain  as  a  spirited, 
spreading,  sprouting,  sprightly  steel-spring;  not  as  a  lazy,  letting- 
alone,  and  let  alone,  leaden,  lumbersome,  lymphatic  gland.  Those  who 
want  to  get  more  material,  may  consult  the  works  of  Jo  a.  Wallis, 
Wachter,  Diez,  Pott,  J.  Grimm,  Bopp,  etc.,  to  be  mentioned  in  the 
appendix.  But  they  must,  after  having  found  the  material,  husk  it, 
then  grind  and  mix  it  with  the  solvent  of  common  sense ;  in  order  to  be 
able  to  digest  and  to  assimilate  it  into  the  sap  and  blood  of  their 
mind. 

;  r  LOGIC    VARIATION    OF    WORDS. 

^  In  Chinese  (p.  148,  and  end  of  149)  every  root  is  a  word  and 
obtains  the  character  of,  what  we  are  taught  to  be,' parts  of  speech, 
merely  by  its  position  and  relation  to  other  words  in  a  sentence.  But 
besides  this  relative  significance  of  words, — for  the  time  being,  i.  e., 
while  they  are  parts  of  a  logic  phrase, — they  undergo  yet  other  kinds 
of  variation.  We  have  seen  that  all  germs  have  an  inherent,  natural, 
absolute,  organic  meaning ;  that  roots  are  sprouts  or  combinations  of 
germs ;  that  words  are  forms  of  either,  shaped  for  the  purpose  of  being 
fitted  into  the  structure  of  propositions.  All  three  are  originally  to- 
kens of  phenomena  of  matter,  as  conceived  simply  by  the  mind.  Tlie 
mind,  however,  as  the  momentum  of  freedom  in  man, — in  opposition 
10* 


210  WORDS   AND    IDIOMS. 

to  the  bodil}^  momentum  of  necessity, — imparts  to  them,  above  and  be- 
yond that  physic  and  somatic  (bodily)  significance,  its  own  logic  and 
moral  character,  by  applying  them,  according  to  the  analogy  between 
their  original  injport  and  the  new  conception  that  is  to  be  expressed. 
The  bodily  meaning  is  transferred  (/xcra-c^cpw,  cfiopio),  p.  191, 192)  into 
a  higher  sphere  of  signification.  Thus  the  words  hi^h^  top,  great^ 
thick,  heavy,  fat,  rich,  bright,  sweet,  sharp  and  the  like,  denoting 
abundance  or  what  is  much  or  agreeable  to  any  sense,  are — in  op- 
position to  loiv,  base,  little,  thin,  light,  lean,  poor,  pale,  bitter,  dull, 
etc.,  all  indicating  what  is  scanty,  small,  or  disagreeable  in  any  way, 
— applied  to  any  thing  and  every  thing  that  our  mind  conceives  to  be 
similar,  in  the  intellectual  or  moral  realms,  to  these  epithets  of  matter. 
If,  however,  the  former  qualities  be  taken  in  a  bad  sense  and  the  lat- 
ter in  a  good  one,  the  application  may  be  made  just  in  an  inverted 
direction  :  thus  coarse,  gross,  etc.,  though  but  by-forms  of  great,  are 
applied  to  express  an  unfavorable  sense. 

The  simple  general  idea  may  be  either  individualized  or  assimi- 
lated, 

I.  An  idea  becomes  individual,  by  our  annexing  to  it  another 
one  which  restricts  its  too  wide  range  of  meaning, — by  our  adding  to 
that  which  is  conceived  as  absolute  another  notion  of  what  is  thought 
to  be  relative.  The  variety  of  the  direction  in  this  mental  process 
stamps  roots  and  words  into  a  property  of  this  or  of  that  language,  or 
into  this  or  that  word,  within  one  and  the  same  tongue.  Thus  L. 
ca^^-io  is  individualized  into  hab-eo,  which  in  G.,  E.,  Fr.,  It.,  etc.,  is 
also  used  as  auxiliary  (haben,  to  have,  avoir,  avere,  haber),  into  E. 
kee^),  G.  kauf-en,  Slav,  kup-iti ;  all  varying  but  in  sound  (the  same 
root  as  in  cav-\\s,  ca6-inet,  cov-e,  etc.,  p.  164,  166,  167,  gutt.,  and  168 
169,  lab.  which  signifies  in,  together,  hid,  held,  closed  in  throat  and 
by  lips.) — But  capio  is  commonly  and  idiomatically  translated  by  E.  to 
seize  ;  keep  is  used  for  to  continue  to  hold ;  kaufen  is  to  bug,  i.  e.,  to 
obtain  possession  of.  The  E.  keep  is  commonly  translated  into  L. 
serware,  con-  and  prze-servare ;  the  kaufen  with  emere,  Capio  is 
translated  into  G.  fassQU,  keep  into  he-halten.  In  Slavic  capio  is 
hvat-^m,  Zorp-em ; . habeo  is  mam;  keep  trim-am.  If  we  now  take 
up  those  translating  words,  we  have:  seize  and  'po&-sid-eo=set'i\Q 
on  ;  7ioZ-d=coil,  hull,  cosignificant  with  cap  in  general ;  buy=A.-S. 
big-an,  but  an  inverted  cap-,  i.  e.,  giv-e  (wo  cannot  give  unless  some- 


WORDS    AND    IDIOMS.  211 

body  seizes  the  given  thing) ;  5cr-v-are= wanting  movement,  by-form 
of  tcr-ra,  ter-minus  (dentals,  p.  170) ;  cm-ere  =  man-ere,  in  ;  fass-sen 
=  L.  vaSj  and  vcs-t\Sj  E.  fas-t,  symbol  of  external  liolding, — sunk  from 
peg  (see  on  the  corruption  of  gutturals,  p.  122, 123) ;  halt-en  ==  hold ; 
hvat=^get]  lap*=^\aj^'y  Xa/x)3-ava),  seize  with  lips;  wa-ti™L.  man- 
eo,  man-us,  em-o  ;  tri-m  =  L.  ter-minus,  akin  to  ser-vare. — Take 
an  example  within  the  pale  of  the  Engl,  language :  care,  guard, 
cherkh,  choose,  mquire,  requiro,  guess,  question,  quest,  ward,  yard, 
ware,  yearn,  beware,  etc.,  all  being  nothing  else  than  the  root  c-r 
(p.  160).  Other  examples  may  be  found  through  this  book,  and,  in- 
deed, every  where,  if  we  only  choose  to  look  for  them. 

By  restricting  or  specifying  ideas,  we  obtain  a  series  of  meanings 
which  are  intermediate  between  the  original  and  the  individualized 
one.  It  is  very  hard  to  express  exactly  what  is  so  elementary — and, 
at  once,  so  vaporous,  so  tender,  as  this  kind  of  mental  process.  The 
student  may  be  excited  to  go  through  it,  but  he  cannot  be  coai-sely 
led,  as  it  were  in  leading  strings  (p.  167).  We  cannot  pocket  the  rays 
of  the  sun,  still  less  can  we  cage  the  rays  of  the  soul.  The  modify- 
ing logic  elements,  working  in  this  process,  are  not  altogether  includ- 
ed within  the  sounds  of  speech.  Manifest  compounds  do  not  belong, 
strictly  speaking,  to  the  present  category  :  but  as  we  have  seen,  many 
apparently  simple  words  are  already  compound.  Even  this  categoiy 
of  individualization  is  mentally,  oftentimes  also  materially,  touched 
or  affected  by  the  following  one.  Unity  is  thus  compenetrated  by 
variety. 

II.  One  idea,  whether  simple  (of  an  essence  or  substance)  or  com- 
pound (of  an  accidence  or  a  modality,  p.  171), — can  be  exchanged 
for  another  with  which  it  is  connected  or  which  it  resembles.  We 
call  this  assimilation.  How  could,  indeed,  all  acts  of  our  internal 
life,  of  our  instincts,  moral  as  well  as  intellectual,  be  expressed  or  no- 
tified to  our  fellow-beings,  unless  by  their  being  associated  with,  simi- 
lar to,  connected  somehow  with,  external  and  sensual  things.  It  is 
therefore  and  thus,  that  we  are  poets  without  knowing  it,  that  we  are 
using  all  the  figures,  the  tropes  and  all  the  other  machinery  detailed 
in  books  on  rhetoric,  poetry,  etc., — while  speaking  of  the  most  triflino* 
object  in  the  most  simple  words.  Aye,  the  most  simple  words  are 
just  those  which  reveal  this  process  most  clearly. 

Examples  of  both  variations,  more  or  less  entwined.    Ira  is  akin 


212  WORDS    AND    IDIOMS. 

to  ^*^o  burn ;  Aa^red,  L.  oc?-ium,  to  heat,  L.  ses-tus,  G.  esse  ;  we  say 
that  fire  gnaws,  eats,  devours.  Dol-eo,  tol-ero,  tolAo,  tul-\  are  by- 
forms  of  the  slave-word  to  ^ote  for  bear,  carry  ;  hence  L.  doloxQm  fer- 
re  or  ^or-t-are.  6^/ow  and  L.  glo-T\i^  cZa-rus,  and  col-  or,  cal-  or,  gla- 
re,  G.  gla-j\Zj  E.  gla-x\ce,  Oan-irMS,  and  car-men,  both  song ;  hence 
in-cantare,  en-chant,  and  chaiTn-e :  because  superstition  attributes 
supernatural  power  to  song.  Mal-us,  bad ;  Slav.  mal-\,  little ;  and 
fxek-as  black ;  moMis,  m el-low,  etc. ;  hence  melon  or  ripe,  L.  mal-um 
apple,  etc.  The  appropriation  and  metaphora  of  the  primitive  organic 
meanings  of  words  must  be  led  by  the  hand  of  history  and  of  eth- 
nography, in  order  to  avoid  stumbhng  over  eveiy  difficulty  in  our  way. 
If  it  be  asked,  f.  i.,  how  sequ-ov,  s€c-undus,  sec-undum,  and  E.  seek  are 
connected  in  meaning  and  how  they  stand  to  se-co,  5e-cus,  we  must  not 
only  look  at  the 'material  germs  5  and  c  but  also  see  whether  they  be 
(more)  joined  into  one  root,  or  (less)  aggregated  into  a  compound.  In 
the  former  4  words  we  have  the  root  sec,  which  we  find  also  in  L. 
sic,  such;  L.  sig-nwm,  G.sich-i,  sigh-i,  all  of  which  are  akin  to  c?/c-o, 
in-c?^c-o,  dig-\i\x?> ;  to  duc-o  and  sug-o,  such ;  to  lig-o,  and  link,  to 
reg-o  and  reach  and  to  others :  the  s  and  c  being  at  the  extreme 
points  of  the  tongue.  Hence  all  those  words  signify  "  extension  be- 
tween two  points."  From  this  flow  the  particular  significations,  as  so 
many  species  or  varieties.  But  this  root  is  also  found  curtailed  in  the 
words  so,  see,  G.  seh-en  ;  in  lo  I  French,  la,  etc.  Putting  ourselves, 
m  imagination,  from  our  present  condition,  into  the  nomadic  state 
of  a  people,  if  a  sheep,  f  i.,  be  lost,  we  must  see  after  it,  go  after 
{seq\\\),  i.  e.,  seek  it,  according  (secundum)  to  where  it  had  gone,  in 
order  to  find  it.  This  will  be  after  we  shall  have  come  ow  or  upon  it 
=  \n-vent-\xm  whence  find,  a  participle  of  the  L.  ven-io  (see  labials). 

Ingram  :  "  If  we  wish  to  form  a  just  notion  of  the  formation  of 
language,  we  must  consider  man  in  the  infancy  of  society  and  in  the 
infancy  of  life.  We  must  divest  him  of  his  8  parts  of  speech,  and 
hear  him  deliver  his  thoughts  with  little  more  assistance  than  that  of 
a  noun  and  a  verb  only.  We  must  tear  from  him  that  gaudy  plum- . 
age,  those  borrowed  wings,  hrea  Trrepoevra,  composed  of  soft  and 
beautiful  feathers,  hermetically  adjusted,  by  which  he  has  been  able 
to  soar  with  triumphant  glory  to  the  highest  region  of  human  fancy. 
We  must  behold  him  a  poor,  defenceless  creature,  surrounded  by 
wants  which  he  struggles  to  express,  and  agitated  by  sensations  whicli 


../ 


>^>-^ 


ii/^i. 


WOKDS   AND   IDIOMS.  *v  213 


.A^m^ 


he  labors  to  communicate.     "We  shall  see  then  how  var 

a  local  and  temporary  nature  have  influenced  his  ideas  and  theTan- 

guage  in  which  he  has  embodied  them." 

To  this  we  cannot  assent  entirely,  as  we  do  not  believe  that  man 
then  was  so  extremely  helpless.  .  A  man  swimming  in  a  Collins-  or 
Cunard-steamer  might  speak  with  the  same  propriety  about  the  poor 
defenceless  porpoises,  as  far  as  swimming  is  concerned.  A  "  noun  and 
a  verb"  is  sufficient  for  them  to  swim,  both  deeper  and  easier,  though 
not  so  far,  so  fast  and  so  on  high,  in  water  and  in  air,  as  the  man  in 
the  steamer  does. 

The  symbolism  of  soimds  decreased  by  degi'ees  until  it  was  for- 
gotten, in  consequence  of  the  fading  of  the  primordial  poetry  of  the 
human  mind.  Is  this  loss  to  be  lamented  ?  Only  those  whose  soul 
is,  so  to  say,  sapless  (L.  sic-ca,  dry,  E.  sick)  will  answer  in  the  nega- 
tive. That  intuitiveness  and  liveliness  has,  however,  been  made  up, 
to  a  certain  degi-ee,  by  a  greater  com  penetration  of  sound  with 
thought :  inasmuch  as  the  primitive  isolated  intuition  has  been  raised 
to  a  clearer  and  more-sided  radiation  of  significations.  That  which 
was  rooted  to  the  ground  of- simple  perceptions  and  simple  concep- 
tions, has  been  lifted  up  into  the  higher,  more  stirring  and  moving  re- 
gions of  the  intellectual  and  moral  atmosphere.  Anciently  the  word 
painted  vividly  the  idea  man  had  of  the  nature  of  the  object ;  while 
now  it  brings  before  his  mind  the  total  of  its  characters  and  relations, 
not  unlike  to  a  spiritual  tableau.  Language  thus  became  more  mind- 
hke. 

Principles  of  motion  and  of  stability  charactenze  its  great  two 
ages  and  stages.  After  the  movement  during  its  birth,  after  the 
youth  of  the  language-making  generations,  followed  the  period  of  its 
repose,  of  their  quiet  enjoyment  of  what  had' been  acquired.  The 
succeeding  generations  were  no  more  at  liberty  to  create  a  new  lan- 
guage ;  they  were  bound  to  that  of  their  ancestors.  Now  the  moment 
of  what  the  Greeks  called  "  ^eo-ct,"  "  by  compact,  or  position"  domi- 
neei-s  paramount  over  the  earher  one  of  "  c^vcret,"  "  by  nature  ;"  not 
unlike  a  Louis  N.  Bonaparte,  who  rides  it  rough-shod  over  the  stirred 
revolutionary  waters  de  la  grande  nation  (^ne.  L  v.  32-35). 

Often  repeated  intuitions,  being  once  fixed  in  the  word^  by  inhe- 
rent marks  of  perception  and  of  recognition  (f.  i.,  in  father,  water, 
heaven,  etc.),  the  complex  of  sounds  becomes  the  bearer  of  every 


214  WORDS   AND   IDIOMS. 

thing  tliat  is  presented  to  the  mind  as  connected  with  its  object  We 
live  ourselves,  so  to  say,  into  such  a  body  or  group  of  sounds,  that  we 
feel  a  loss  in  the  content  of  our  thoughts  and  feelings,  even  when 
only  obliged  to  give  up  the  tones  of  our  mother-tongue  for  dialectic 
variations. 

The  principle  of  motion,  which  presided  at  the  birth  of  language, 
is  roused  up  again  by  the  intercouree  with  other  nations,  as  well  as 
by  progressive  culture.  New  words,  forms,  phrases  are  thus  intro- 
duced, which  must  be  assimilated  to  the  remnants  of  the  vernacular 
tongue,  in  keeping  with  the  laws  of  its  symphony.  Witness  the  lan- 
guages of  western  Europe,  which  are  called  modern,  from  the  date  of 
this  transformation  in  their  structure.  Great  poets  and  speakers  also 
exert  a  mighty  influence  upon  this  metamorphosis.  In  short,  lan- 
guages portray  the  absolute  conditions  of  life,  viz. :  continual  motion, 
tempered  by  steadiness. 

Out  of  the  fermentation  of  the  decaying  Latin,  in  its  mixture  with 
its  originally  kindred  (i.  e.,  in  germs  and  roots)  Celtic,  Teutic  and 
other  dialects,  arose,  by  the  influence  of  peculiar  phonetic  and  other 
laws,  new  relatively  organic  languages..  The  vis  inertias,  manifested 
by  steadiness,  inherent  to  the  organs  of  speech,  is  modified  by  the  mo- 
mentum of  mobility,  by  means  of  symphony.  Both  are  accompanied 
and  directed  by  the  activity  of  the  mind.  Celerity  of  spiritual  in- 
tercourse, abundance  of  fleeting  parts  of  speech,  delicacy  of  flexions 
did  not  characterize  the  primeval  language,  which  had  to  produce 
the  raw  material,  in  a  scantiness  determined  by  the  organs  of  speech, 
by  acoustic  as  well  as  mental  elementary  categories.  Many  genera- 
tions were  required  to  transform  this  rude  but  picturesque  language, 
into  a  fine,  swift,  luxuriant  organism.  Could  we  trace  the  papilion  of 
language,  from  the  egg,  through  all  metamorphoses,  we  should  have 
a  complete  historic  picture  of  each  respective  people. 

The  Chinese  and  the  Sanskrita  are  the  two  poles  of  the  whole 
sphere  of  all  known  languages.  This  polarity,  however,  is  but  formal, 
showing  the  direction  which  the  one  human  instinct  of  language  has 
taken  in  its  development. 

Writing  exerts  on  language  either  a  promoting  or  an  impeding 
influence:  the  Devandgari  (pp.  87-91), and  the  Phoenician  graphic 
system  (p.  92  and  foil.)  coinciding  with  the  sounds,  on  one  hand;  and 
the  Chinese  iconography^  (pp.  84~87)  being  in  constant  and  flagrant 
divorce  from  the  sounds,  on  the  other,  being  tlio  extreme  examples. 


CONCLUSION. 

"  An  exhausted  composure,  a  worn-out  placidity,  an  equanimity  of  fatigue  not  to  be  ruffled 
by  interest  or  satisfaction,  are  the  trophies  of  her  victory.  She  is  perfectly  well-bred.  If  she 
could  be  translated  to  heaven  to-morrow,  she  might  be  expected  to  ascend  without  any  rap- 
ture."   C.  Dickens'  Bleak  House,  Chap.  II.,  on  Lady  Dedlock. 

With  a  few  alterations,  the  same  thing  might  be  said  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  people,  which  has  received  and  is  receiving  "  Education" 
in  either  of  the  usual  ways,  privately  or  in  public  schools.  The  "  pro- 
fessional" part  of  that  portion  again  may  be  divided,  as  regards  the 
apathy  in  matters  avowedly — (if  it  be  permitted  to  say,  trumpetedly) 
— of  the  first  importance  for  the  rising  generation  and  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  republican  institutions,  into  such  as  have  been  slightly  touch- 
ed in  the  note  on  p.  185,  and  into  timid  souls  despairing  to  produce 
any  real  bona  fide  improvement,  hence  attempting  none.  Some  of 
this  category,  very  "  learned  scholars,"  have  been  imported  into  this 
country,  with  some  vague  view  to  some  cloudy  end ;  but  they  either 
left  for  Europe  (f.  i.,  Professors  G.  Long  and  i/".  Key^  who  had  been 
so  imported  by  Thorn.  Jefferson)  or,  if  they  remained,  they  were 
affected  with  a  sort  of  obmutescence,  which  is  said  to  befall  dogs  in 
some  countries ;  all  of  them  becoming  very  good  boys,  sweet-tem- 
pered Dead-logs,  swimming  on  the  rapid  but  turbid  and  ungainly  cur- 
rent of  popularity,  flowing  into  the  Ocean  of  mystification. 

Thus,  while  commerce,  all  trades  and  the  sciences  called  natural 
are  rapidly  progressing ;  while  the  farmer,  the  sailor,  the  mechanic, 
the  merchant,  the  artist,  the  natural  philosopher,  the  medical  man, 
are  rising  into  a  clearer  region  of  theory,  and  into  a  more  safe  and 
expeditious  one  of  practice :  the  teacher  (or  scholar,  professor,  doctor, 
tutor)  of  the  youth  and  of  the  untutored  mass,  dooms  himself  to  be 
stationary  in  a  murky  fog  of  medieval  hocus-pocus.     All  well-bred 


216  CONCLUSION. 

Dead-logs  will  cry  out  "  anathema'''  on  the  presumptuous  writer  of  this 
essay. 

In  closing  it,  he  wishes  to  impress  on  the  mind  of  such  as  may 
not  altogether  be  shocked  out  of  self-consciousness  by  his  rude  hints, 
that  he  does  not  hope  any  Reform,  worth  this  name,  in  the  would-be 
systems  and  methods  of  primary  education,  within  this  generation. 
His  conscience,  however,  will  be  at  ease  for  having  frankly  told  what 
he  feels  on  the  subject.  Unhappily  for  his  exchequer,  he  has  the 
misfortune, — if  it  be  really  one,  when  compared  with  the  "  fortunes" 
of  those  whose  wretchedness  is  envied  by  the  poor  sort  of  wretches, 
— to  differ  from  those  who  have 

"  Mel  in  ore,  verba  lactis 
Fel  in  corde,  fraiis  in  factis."* 

He  has  the  presumption  to  believe  that 

"  Nicht  is  Gold  was  gleisst, 
Gliick  nicht  AUcs  was  so  heisst, 
Nicht  Alles  Freude,  was  so  scheint : 
Damit  hab'  ich  gar  Manches  gemeint."t 

Should  any  of  the  hyperborean  Unruffled  ones,  who  does  not  see 
a  splendid  rainbow  of  glossologic  peace  in  the  preceding  pages,  take 
the  trouble  to  bestow  a  somewhat  close  and  repeated  attention  on 
their  contents  ;  he  may  find,  at  least,  some  pavonaceous  colore,  shin- 
ing here  and  there,  on  the  surface.  Coals,  raven-feathei-s  and  pools 
of  water  offer,  notwithstanding  their  unsightliness,  many  points  worthy 
of  study.  The  present  little  heap  of  coal  does  not  aspire  to  a  higher 
destiny. 

Those  readei-s  who  have  availed  themselves  of  the  call  on  p.  12 
(compare  St.  Matth.  xx.  1-16),  even  as  late  as  "  the  eleventh  hour;" 
who  have  resigned  themselves  to  wade  through  the  dry,  dreary  and 
dusty  details  set  before  them,  will,  of  couree,  form  any  opinion  they 
please.  But  that  class  which  has  been  characterized  in  the  last  para- 
graph of  p.  16,  on  pp.  33,  34,  and  in  some  other  passages,  is  past  re- 
demption by  any  attempted  reform.    No  cautery  is  potential  enough 


*  "  Honey  in  mouth,  words  of  milk  :  Gall  in  heart,  deceit  in  deeds." 
f  "  Not  is  gold,  what  glitters,  Luck  not  all,  what  so  (is)  hight  (called, 

hailed),  Not  all  frolic  (joy),  what  so  sheens  (seems) :  Therewith  have  I 

quite  many  (a  thing)  meant." 


CONCLUSION.    .  217 

to  produce  a  healing  reaction  in  their  narcotized  core  (both  cor  and 
cerebrum)  unless,  may-be,  an  irritation  in  the  occiput.  "Habeant  sibi !" 

It  seems  almost  needless  to  add  that  tho  book  has  not  been  in- 
tended to  be  either  a  complete  detailed  treatise  on  a  specific  language, 
or  a  complete  expositor  of  all  that  could  be  said  on  the  nature  of  lan- 
guage, in  general.  It  is  rather  a  feeler  (p.  162  and  top  of  1G3)  of 
the  capacity  of  public  taste,  a  poker  into  the  Alps  of  school-dust,  and 
a  broom  which  may  help  to  sweep  out  some  of  it.  Unless  and  be- 
fore this  latter  operation  be  performed,  the  suggestions  of  the  book 
cannot  be  productive  of  as  much  benefit  as  perhaps  they  might  on 
that  condition. 

Should  the  fate  of  the  book  show  a  desire  of  an  amendment  in 
elementary  and  organic  instruction,  more  elaborate,  less  polemic  and 
quite  practic  treatises  will  be  offered  to  a  public  which  is  not  re- 
pelled from  progress  by  being  told  "  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and 
nothing  but  the  truths 


EXCURSUS. 

A)  From  page  10. 

\ 

A  SHORT  HISTORY  AND  LITERATURE  OF  PHILOLOGY. 

Those  who  desire  a  fuller  account,  may  consult  J.  W.  Donaldsoii's  New 
Cralylus,  Lond.  1839,  2d  ed.  1850.  The  heads  of  it  are  given  here,  togeth- 
er with  a  more  ample  indication  of  the  most  prominent  authors,  and  with 
some  observations. 

The  principal  ancient  work  on  language,  i.  e.,  the  Cratylus  of  PlMo,  has 
been  given  in  epitome  in  Chap.  IV.  p.  126-140.  Some  other  topics  connect- 
ed with  language  may  be  found  in  the  text  and  notes  of  J.  Harrises  Hermes^ 
Lond.  1759  and  1816. 

The  Romans  borrowed  their  arts,  philosophy  and  grammar  from  the 
Greeks,  feeling  as  they  did  little  interest  in  the  ethnic  condition  of  their 
vast  empire  on  the  grounds  of  common  humanity,  though  they  esteemed 
very  highly  the  noble  character  of  individuals.  They  mixed  very  little 
with  the  inhabitants  found  in  their  provinces. 

Polybius  is  the  pnly  one  of  the  ancient  writers,  who  justly  appreciates 
man ;  speaking  of  nations  as  of  members  of  one  body,  whose  single  history 
can  be  understood  but  by  a  comparison  with  that  of  others. 

Since  Boethins,  the  last  Latin  philosopher,  who  was  put  to  death  at  the 
order  of  the  Gothic  kingTheodoric,  in  the  6th  century,  the  mind  of  Europe 
seemed  to  have  been  drowned  in  Lethe. 

Although  Christianity  (p.  32,  2d  paragraph)  placed  the  idea  of  human- 
ity above  that  of  nationality,  and  raised  the  value  of  individuals,  the  spirit 
of  true  love  of  truth  and  of  justice  has,  nevertheless,  not  yet  pervaded  even 
our  present  plans  of  moral  and  intellectual  education.  The  Romish  hier- 
archy kept  down  letters  and  sciences,  from  interest  and  from  pretended  re- 
ligious scruples,  exercising  itself  a  scanty  monopoly  of  copied  and  crabbed 
Latin  learning,  while  neglectful  of  the  better  Greek  literature. 

Tlie  Reformation  restored,  to  some  extent,  the  rights  to  individuals ;  it 
stimulated  the  mind  to  researches  and  awakened  respect  for  vernacular 
tongues  :  yet  its  effects  on  true  science  were  and  are  yet  one-sided,  and  the 
aesthetic  culture  is  less  attended  to  by  it,  than  it  deserves  to  be,  as  one  of 


BXCUE8US.  219 

the  three  Graces  of  humanity.  Nor  is  so  much  due  to  the  church-reform 
as  is  claimed  for  it. 

The  introduction  of  Types  (p.  103)  in  1440,  the  fall  of  Constantinople 
(1453,  May  29),  with  its  consequent  scattering  of  learned  Greeks  and  of 
ancient  works  over  Europe,  the  discovery  of  America,  some  other  dis- 
coveries and  inventions  before  and  about  this  period,  and  the  general, 
though  slow  breaking  forth  of  common  sense,  were  all,  so  to  say,  in  joint  part- 
nership, instrumental  in  altering  what  is  vaguely  called  "  the  spirit  of  times J^ 
for  the  better.  This  very  buoyancy  in  the  mind  of  Europe  was  itself,  in- 
deed, the  predisposing  cause  of  the  schism  from  the  church  of  Rome.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  the  mind  awakening  from  the  medieval  lethargy,  like 
Epimenides,  found  all  things  altered  except  itself,  and  it  turned  eagerly  to 
the  former  waking  and  thinking  world,  to  use  Donaldson's  words.  Unhap- 
pily the  awakening  mind  was  straightly  laced  into  grammatic  boots,  which 
cramp  its  natural  feet  even  in  our  gas-enlightened  age. 

"  The  Gram  loquitur,  Dia  vera  docet,  Rhet  verba  ministrat,"  or  the 
trivium  of  the  schools,  entwined  with  impious  theological  dreams  and 
squabbles,  became  the  heavy  ballast  of  the  God-given  soul,  that  keeps  it  from 
soaring,  on  a  grating  drag  even  to  the  present  time.  . 

What  with  Aristotelian  ill-understood  logic  and  metaphysics,  with  the 
quarrels  between  reason  and  so-called  orthodoxy,  with  questions  about 
universals,  with  controversies  between  realists  and  nominalists,  with  all  this 
school-dust;  poor  Common  Sense  had  no  more  chance  of  being  allowed  to 
look  about  itself,  than  during  the  preceding  more  brutal  ages  of  migrations, 
crusades,  witch-smelling,  heretic-roasting,  etc.,  times. 

Wm.  of  Occham,  a  Franciscan  monk,  proved  that  words  are  tools  of 
reasoning  and  not  real  objects  of  science,  thus  laying  the  foundation  of  ra- 
tional grammar,  in  opposition  to  so-called  Realism.  He  is  said  to  have 
overthrown  the  worship  of  words.  From  this  the  writer  of  these  lines  has 
the  misfortune  of  being  obliged  to  dissent,  seeing  that  even  the  American 
people  are  being  mystified  by  the  "  great  M  .  .  .  .  r,"  by  all  sorts  of  feather- 
less  birds,  etc.,  which  deal  in  mere  words  and  even  in  mere  song,  in  this 
2d  half  of  the  19th  century.  Mart.  IjiUher  preferred  Occham's  Nominalism 
to  the  scholasticity  of  Thomas  and  of  Duns  Scotus,  and  created  a  sound  re- 
vulsion in  favor  of  the  High-German  tongue,  by  his  translation  of  the  Bible 
into  it. 

Franc.  Petrarca,  the  Anacreon-Pindar  of  Italy,  did  much  towards  instill- 
ing enthusiasm  in  favor  of  the  ancient  writers.  Reuchlin,  Biidceus,  Eras- 
mus of  Rotterdam,  Luther's  friend  Melaricthon,  and  some  other  master-minds 
were  efficient  in  the  same  direction. 

The  ambitious  projects  of  Charles  VIII. ^  Louis  XII.,  and  Francis  I.  of 
France  (end  of  16th  and  1st  half  of  17th  century)  on  Italy,  contributed 
much  towards  a  diffusion  of  letters.  The  family  of  the  Etieniie,  and  other 
Frenchmen,  as  Casaubon,  Saumaise  (latinized  into  Stcphani.  Salmasius), 
J.  J.  Scallgcr,  though  of  Italian  origin,  Muretus  (in  Italy)  distiuguislTud 
themselves  by  philologic  researches. 


220  EXCURSUS. 

The  university  at  Ley  den  ^  with  which  the  city  was  rewarded  for  its  he- 
roic defence,  1574,  was  the  precursor  of  others  in  the  Netherlands,  and 
surpassed  all  Europe  by  its  philologic  school. 

The  publication  of  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  versions  of  the  same,  vari- 
ant readings,  commentaries,  verbal  criticisms,  comparisons  with  Hebrew, 
etc.,  seasoned  by  quarrelling  among  the  editors  and  commentators,  absorb- 
Cid  almost  the  whole  attention  and  industry  of  the  scholars  of  the  next  pe- 
riod, after  the  last  named  one  of  more  genial  minds. 

More  enlightened  scholarship  was  introduced  by  Beniley,  whose  ingenu- 
ity and  learning  were  unrivalled.  He  was  succeeded  by  men  very  able  in 
verbal  criticism,  such  as  Dawes,  Parson,  etc.  Yet  the  range  of  comparison 
between  languages  was  very  narrow,  and  limited  to  single  words.  The 
Hollanders  were  indefatigable  in  examining  old  lexicographers,  but  their 
principles  were  not  well  founded.  Most  prominent  in  what  is  called  clas- 
sical philology  were  Richnken  and  Drakenborch.  On  their  model  were  Gcs- 
ncr,  Ernesti  and  some  other  Germans,  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century. 

Lessing  emancipated  German  literature  from  French  trammels,  and 
Wink elmann  \2i\di  i\iQ  foundation  to  the  archasology  of  art ;  the  ingenious 
Leibnitz,  Ludolf  (p.  112)  and  other  eminent  Germans  before  them,  having 
written  in  Latin  and  French.  Heyne  extended  philology,  hitherto  confined 
to  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  to  the  archaeology  of  ancient  monuments,  com- 
bining with  it  principles  of  taste.  German  scholars  were  wont  to  model 
their  own  vernacular  on  anciont  patterns.  P.  A.  Wolf,  the  most  purely 
literary  genius  that  ever  marched  with  the  heaviest  baggage  of  book-learn- 
ing, combined  Heyne's  school  with  the  revival  of  Bentleian  spirit. 

As  no  pragmatic  history  of  any  specific  branch  of  the  science  of  lan- 
guage is  here  to  be  expected,  it  must  suffice  to  mention  the  names  of 
some  prominent  men,  without  an  attempt  at  exact  chronology,  at  complete- 
ness, or  at  a  distinction  of  their  pursuits ;  the  more  so  as  their  works  are 
generally  known.  Klopstock,  Voss,  Wieland,  Herder,  Boutenoeck,  Schiller ^ 
Goetha,  Boetticker,  J.  P.  Richter,  etc.,  Niebuhr,  Heeren,  etc.,  Buttman,  Herr- 
mann, MatthicB,  T/iiersch,  Lobeck,  Passovj,  Bockh,  Welcker,  Schneider,  Schel- 
ler,  and  a  host  of  others  (the  omission  of  whose  names  ought  not  to  be  con- 
strued either  into  an  intended  slight  of  their  great  merits,  or  into  ignorance 
on  the  side  of  the  writer  of  this  sketch) — were  stars  of  first  magnitude  in 
the  galaxy  of  German  literature. 

The  study  of  philology,  connected  as  it  is  with  that  of  antiquities,  of 
aesthetics,  of  philosophy,  ethnography,  and,  indeed,  more  or  less,  with  all 
human  pursuits,  sciences  and  arts,  is  especially  linked  with  that  of  the  civil 
or  Roman  law.  The  discovery  of  the  fragments  of  Gains  gave  a  new  com- 
plexion to  the  history  of  jurisprudence.  Savigny  was,  at  once,  one  of  the 
greatest  lawyers  and  philologers.  In  short,  the  wide  reach  of  philology  in 
Germany  may  be"  perceived  from  the  various  definitions  made  of  it,  by 
many  of  its  votaries,  some  of  which  we  find  recorded  on  the  first  page  (9) 
of  our  introduction.  Philology  made  more  progress  within  the  last  half 
century  in  Germany,  than  during  the  two  preceding  centuries. 


EXCURSUS.  221 

The  other  nations  stand  at  considerable  distance  from  the  Germans,  in 
this  respect.  The  Danes  liad  tlieir  Nicbuhr,  the  father,  whose  son  ranks 
high  among  historians.  Although  the  former  was  most  distinguished  as  a 
traveller,  he  may  not  unfitb'  take  rank  with  the  latter  in  the  halls  of  philol- 
ogy. Rask  is  another  celebrated  man  who  did  much,  not  merely  on  Scandi- 
navian but  also  in  oriental  languages.  The  nationality  of  the  writers, 
whose  works  are  about  to  be  mentioned  soon,  will  be  pointed  out ;  so  th^t 
no  imputation  of  unjust  partiality  ought  to  be  made  on  the  writer. 

Quite  a' respectable  cluster  of  more  industrious,  more  pious  and  more 
learned  than  acute-minded  men,  have  exerted  themselves  in  the  field  of 
Hebrew  letters,  but  with  no  success  commensurate  to  their  good  will. 
Among  them  may  be  mentioned :  Bishop  Walton  who  asserted  that  Eve 
and  the  snake  conversed  together  by  speech,  and  the  like ;  Bochart,  Hugo 
Grotius,  Huct,  Ledeu,  Boxhorn,  Rich.  Simon ;  among  the  more  recent :  Ge- 
senius,  Ewalcl,  Fahre  (V  Olivet.  In  other  Shemitic  languages  Erpenius,  Silv. 
de  Sacy  are  real  princes. 

The  scientific  study  of  the  Chinese  language  dates  from  the  erection  of 
a  chair  in  Paris,  1815,  at  the  suggestion  of  de  Sacy.  It  was  carried  to  a 
high  degree  by  Abel-Remusat  and  by  his  pupil  Stan.  Julien.  The  works  of 
Marshman,  Morrison,  De  Guignes,  Medhurst,  Gonsalvez,  Gallery,  of  many 
Jesuits,  of  Gntzlajf,  of  the  American  Bright,  together  with  the  exertions  of 
the  Anglo-Indian  school  and  of  the  apostolic  college  at  Macao,  etc.,  have 
contributed  largely  to  open  the  eyes  of  Europeans  on  this  most  important 
manifestation  of  the  human  mind. 

But  a  new  branch  of  the  science  in  question  has  grown  up,  by  the  side 
of  the  classic  and  biblic  ones,  namely  the  Indian  or  Sanscritic#  Jos.  Scali- 
ger  had  already  noticed  the  resemblance  between  the  Persian  and  German 
languages,  although  he  was  far  yet  from  finding  their  common  origin. 
When  /.  Lipsiiis  (1599)  and  Salmasius  (1643)  compared  the  modern  Per- 
sian with  the  Greek  and  Teutic,  they  had  no  fixed  principle  to  go  upon. 
Leibnitz  was  the  first  to  point  out  the  true  method  of  inquiry;  he  saw  that 
the  Hebrew  had  no  claim  to  maternity,  and  he  showed  that,  in  order  to 
arrive  at  something  determinate,  it  was  necessary  to  compare  all  languages, 
even  such  as  are  most  remote  from  one  another,  and  that  the  simplest,  most 
important  words  ought  to  be  most  closely  examined. 

A  new  turn  was  given  to  the  inquiries  into  language  by  commercial  nav- 
igation and  by  the  desire  of  the  various  Christian  sects  to  propagate  their 
dogmas.  Pope  Urban  VIII.  founded,  in  the  first  half  of  the  17th  century, 
the  Collegium  de  propaganda  fide,  at  Rome,  which  received  pupils  from  al- 
most all  nations  of  the  earth,  and  sent  out  missionaries  for  the  purpose  indi- 
cated by  its  title.  The  Jesuits  were  indefatigable  and  most  successful  in 
their  exertions,  among  the  missionaries  of  all  Christian  sects  and  among 
those  of  other  Catholic  orders.  Colbert,  the  great  minister  of  France, 
founded  in  1665  the  French  East-India  Company,  which  also  promoted  the 
labors  of  the  missions.  The  United  provinces  of  the  Netherlands  establish- 
ed factories  in  Batavia  and  acted  in  the  same  direction  j  they  also  establish- 


222  EXCURSUS. 

ccl  presses  at  Colombo,  etc.  Protestant  Danish  missions  worked  (1705)  in 
Tranquebar,  on  the  coast  of  Coromandel ;  but,  being  less  zealous  themselves, 
tlieir  men  were  drawn  principally  from  Halle  in  Germany,  whose  labors, 
however,  compared  with  those  of  others,  were  rather  mechanical.  The 
Efii^dish  settlements  (1727)  at  Madras  and  elsewhere  contributed  to  swell 
the  ranks  of  those  who  did  not  go  to  the  East  in  quest  of  mere  money. 
•  Some  touches  will  be  sufficient  to  show  how  the  glossologic  treasures 
were  unsealed  to  Europe.  J.  E.  Hanxleben,  a  German  Jesuit,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  18th  century,  obtained  first  and  secret  instruction  in  Sanscrit  from 
two  Brahmins.  J.  Ph.  Wesdin  (named  Fra  Pa^tlmo  a.  S.  Bartholomseo),  a 
Hungarian,  was  the  first  who  gave  us  extracts  of  Sanscrit  books  and  who 
compared  the  Sanscrit  and  Zend  with  German  and  Latin  ;  but,  as  he  was 
imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  Sanscrit,  his  polemics  against  the  English 
at  Calcutta  injured  but  his  own  reputation.  J.  Z.  Holwcll  (1727-57)  resi- 
dent at  Bengal,  furnished  information  on  the  cosmogony,  mythology,  etc., 
of  the  Gentoo ;  being  the  next  European,  after  Hanxleben,  who  acquired 
the  Sanscrit.  Dow  was  the  third  who  learned  this  language,  also  secretly. 
Among  the  French,  Foucher  (V  ObsonvUle  made  himself  known  by  an  edition 
of  the  Puranas  which  are  the  sacred  Hindoo  books  of  the  second  class. 
De  Gidgnes  (1759)  deserved  well  about  the  ancient  Persian,  Chinese,  etc. 
Abr.  H.  Anquctil  du  Perron  did  much  towards  bringing  to  the  notice  of 
Europeans  the  Oupneck'hat  or  extracts  of  the  4  Sanscrit  Vedas,  in  a  Per- 
sian translation  ;  thus  introducing  the  knowledge  of  the  Zend  and  P^hlvi : 
although  himself  not  much  of  a  scholar. 

By  the  peace  of  Paris,  1762,  the  fall  of  the  French  power  in  the  East 
Indies  was  diplomatically  sealed,  and  the  English  became  its  heirs.  War- 
ren Hastings,  the  Governor  of  the  E.  E.  I.  Comp.,  employed  eleven  pundits 
(legists)  in  Fort  William  to  translate  the  Hindoo  Brahminic  as  well  as  Ma- 
hometan laws  into  English,  which  were  edited,  177G,  by  N.  B.  HaLhed,  who 
also  published  a  Bengalee  grammar.  He  says  in  the  preface  to  the  latter : 
"I  have  been  astonished  to  find  the  similitude  of  Sanscrit  words  with  those 
of  Persian  and  Arabic,  and  even  with  Latin  and  Greek  :  and  these  not  in  tech- 
nical or  metaphorical  terms,  which  the  mutation  of  refined  arts  and  im- 
proved manners  might  have  occasionally  introduced;  but  in  the  main 
groundwork  of  language,  in  monosyllables,  in  names  of  numbers,  in  appella- 
tions of  such  things  as  could  be  first  discriminated  at  the  immediate  dawn 
of  civilization."  Sir  Wm.  Jones  was  highly  instrumental  in  not  only  acquir- 
ing himself,  but  also  in  encouraging  and  leading  on  others  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  all  things  connected  with  Asia,  especially  with  Persia  and  the 
E.  Indies.  He  published  between  about  1771  and  the  end  of  the  century,  a 
Persian  grammar,  translations  of  the  Sanscrit  drama  Sacontala,  of  the  Gita- 
govinda,  the  ordinances  of  Menu,  etc.,  etc.  He  also  founded  the  Academy 
at  Calcutta,  the  Asiatic  researches,  etc. 

Other  Englishmen  worthy  of  honorable  mention  are :  Richardson,  pub- 
lished a  Persian  lexicon,  1777.  G.  Hadlcy,  a  Hindoo  grammar  and  diction- 
ary, 1798.    J.  Ferguson,  Hindoo  grammar  and  dictionary.    J.   Gilchrist ^ 


I 


EXCURSUS.  223 

//.  T.  Colchroolce^  digest  of  Hindoo  law,  on  contracts,  on  Sanscrit  and  PrfL- 
crit  language,  1801,  Cha$.  Wilkin^  published  the  tlieologic  episode  Bhag- 
vat-Gita  (i)art  of  tlie  epic  poem  of  Maha-Bharata) ;  he  translated  Hitopa- 
desa,  a  collection  of  Fables  by  the  Brahmin  Vi.shnar  Sarna  (known  under 
the  name  of  the  fables  of  Pilpai) ;  he  gave  us  a  very  good  Sanscrit  grammar, 
etc.  Xhe  first  classic  work  in  Devanfigarl  was  brought  out  by  Carey^  at 
Serampore,  1804.  * 

Other  countries  of  Europe  pride  themselves  also  with  having  contribu- 
ted towards  laying  open  this  new  mine,  which  is  not  only  fertile  of  inter- 
esting views  into  the  history  of  humanity,  but  which  has  also  altered  the 
whole  aspect  of  philology,  of  ethnography  and  of  all  other  sciences  related 
to  a  correct  appreciation  of  human  speech  (see  p.  15G-158).  The  Museum 
Borgianum  at  Velitri  contains  a  rich  collection  of  materials  and  of  manu- 
scripts from  the  East  Indies,  Ava,  Pegu,  Siam,  etc. 

Fred.  Sckle^cl,  while  in  England,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century, 
learned  some  Sanscrit  from  Hamilton  and,  afterwards,  at  Paris  from  Lang^ 
les.  He  published  a  work  "  Ueber  die  Sprache  and  Weischeit  der  Indier" 
(on  the  language  and  wisdom  of  the  Indians),  which  created  a  stir  among 
the  learned.  But  the  more  solid  Sanscrit  scholarship  was  founded  by 
Franc  Bopp  of  Berlin  (who,  in  Pott's  words  "  opened  the  sacred  gates  to 
the  Zend"  also)  and  by  A.  W.  Schlegel,  seconded  by  W.  Humboldt.  Bopp 
published  many  valuable  works,  the  principal  of  which  are :  Vergleich. 
Grammatik  (comparative  grammar)  of  the  Sanscrit,  Zend,  Greek,  Lat.,  Lit- 
van,  Slavic  1833-7,  Englished  by  Eastwick,  Oxford,  1845-50 ;  Sanscrit  gram- 
mars in  Lat.  and  in  German ;  glossaries,  etc. 

A  legion  of  writers  followed  in  the  wake  of  Bopp,  and  the  study  of  the 
Sanskrita  became  quite  an  anchor  of  hope  for  the  discovery  of  the  punctum 
saliens  of  human  speech  (compare  p.  160  Germs).  Only  some  of  the  hosts 
of  Sanscritans  can  here  be  mentioned,  among  whom  excel  Dr.  A.  F.  Pott^ 
who  wrote  very  valuable  "  Etymologische  Forschungen  (etymol.  researches) 
1833-6;  on  Gypsies;  on  the  Quinary  system  of  numeration,  etc.  Dr.  Alb. 
Hoefer  :  Beitrage  zur  Etymologic  und  vergleichend.  Grammatik,  1839  (con- 
tributions to  Etym.  and  compar.  gram.),  he  publishes  also  a  philologic  peri- 
odical ;  etc.  Dr.  H.  E.  Blndseil :  Abhandlungen  allgem.  vergleich.  Sprach- 
lehre,  etc.,  1838  (treatises  on  universal  compar.  glossology).  Wullner : 
Heber  die  Verwandschaft  der  Indo-German.  Sprachen,  Einleitung  iiber 
den  Ursprung  der  Sprache  (on  the  affinity  of  the  Indo-Germ.  lang.  intro- 
duction on  the  origin  of  language).  Parr  an :  Racines  naturelles  Semito- 
Sanscrites,  1852  (containing  but  a  travesty  of  Fabre  d'  OliveVs  views  on  He- 
brew roots,  on  which  Sanscritic  orthodoxy  is  here  engrafted).     Eichhoflf. 

Chezy^  Bohlen,  Botlingk,  Lepsius,  Lassen,  Eug.  Bur nouf  {greatest  Zend- 
ist)  are  not  mere  shadows  of  great  names,  but  of  really  sterling  merit. 
Others  have  been  noticed  in  the  proper  places  of  this  book,  f.  i.,  K.  O. 
Mueller,  p.  32 ;  Rosen,  Westergaard,  p.  157 ;  Chavee,  p.  163 ;  etc.  But 
it  would  be  unpardonable  not  to  mention  W.  Humboldt  again  (p.  22)  whose 
work  on  Kawi  (p.  91)  is  called  by  Bunsen  (author  of  a  great  work  on 


224  EXCURSUS. 

JE^ypt  and  of  others  on  subjects  of  great  interest)  "  the  calculus  subliniis 
of  linguistic  theory,  placing  Humboldt's  name  in  universal  ethnologic  phi- 
lology by  the  side  of  tiiat  of  Leibnitz." 

Joh.  Chr.  Addung^s  Mithridates  oder  allgem.  Sprachen  kunde,  etc.,  IV., 
Th.  1806  (M.  or  universal  notice  of  languages  etc.),  contains  specific  lite- 
ratures of  all  languages  which  were  then  known  to  the  literati  of  Europe; 
the  "Lord's  Prayer"  being  the  basis  of  comparison,  Juh.  Sev.  Vatei's 
Vergleichungstafeln  derEurop.  und  Sud-Westl.  Asiat.  Sprachen,  1821  (coni- 
parat.  tables  of  the  Europ.  and  S.-W.  Asiatic  languages) ;  a  work  on  the 
"ancient  Prussians"  1821 ;  etc.,  works.  Eichhorti's  Geschlcte  der  Litteratur 
(hist,  of  literature).  Ersck  und  Gruber^s  Encyclopadie,  and  many  other  pe- 
riodic works  on  subjects  connected  with  the  study  of  languages,  afford  am- 
ple assistance  to  the  student  who  is  desirous  of  perfecting  himself  in  these 
pursuits. 

Among  the  academies  and  societies  for  the  promotion  of  linguistic  lore, 
the  academy  of  St.  Petersburg  has  great  many  advantages  arising,  in  part, 
from  the  wide  extent  of  the  Russian  empire  and  from  the  liberality  of 
government  in  favor  of  ethnographic  researches.  But  Berlin  may  be  safely 
looked  at  as  the  metropolis  of  every  thing  connected  with  anthropology  on  J 
the  widest  scale.  | 

Jacob  Grim7)i's  "  deutsche  Grammatik  and  his  Geschichte  der  deutsch. 
Sprache"  stand,  it  may  be  said,  at  the  top  of  the  huge  pyramid  of  Ger- 
man works  on  their  language. 

On  Celtic,  J.  C.  Prichard^s  Eastern  origin  of  the  Celtic  nations;  com- 
par.  with  Sanscrit,  Greek,  Lat.  (as  supplement  to  his  Researches  into  the 
physical  origin  of  mankind),  1831.  Ad.  PicteCs  de  I'affin.  des  langues  Celt, 
avec  le  Sanscrit,  1837  ;  Sharon  Turner^  work  on  the  Gauls;  Dr.  Lor.  Die- 
fenbacKs  Celtica,  etc. ;  Le  Gonidcc^s  grammar  1807  and  Dictionary  1821  of 
the  Breizounec  (or  Armoraic,  or  Bas-Breton)  ;  Owen's,  Evans\  J.  Walter s\ 
RadowUz's,  works  on  the  Cymraeg  (or  Welsh) ;  Pryce's,  TV.  GamboWs  on 
Cornic;  M'Farlane's,  Lhwyd's,  on  Irish  and  Gaelic;  Stewart's  and  the 
Highland  Soc.'s  works  of  Erse;  etc.,  furnish  valuable  materials.  Works  of 
older  date  are  also  not  scarce,  f.  i.,  DuFrcsne;  Boxhorn's  ov'i^.GaMicsn] 
Chalmers'  Caledonia  ;  liUson,  Bullet,  etc. 

On  Slavic.  Russian  academy  of  the  Russian  language,  founded 
by  Catharine  IL,  1783,  under  the  first  presidency  of  princess  Dashkow. 
The  works  of  Pallas,  Schi^kow,  etc.  Jos.  Dobrowski's  many  excellent  works 
on  the  Bohem.  and  other  dialects  of  the  Slavic  language.  P.  J.  Schajfarik*s 
works.  S.  B.  Linde's  great  comparative  Polish  lexicon  and  etymologic  in- 
quiries. Joach.  Lelewel's  various  geographic,  historic,  and  other  very  con- 
scientious and  accurate  works,  especially  on  Poland.-  Dankoicski:  die  Grie- 
chen  als  Sprach.  verwandte  der  Slaven,  1828  (Greeks  as  kindred  in  language 
with  the  Slavons).  Consult  a  valuable  article  on  Slav,  literat.  (in  the  Bib- 
lical Repository  of  Prof,  Edw.  Robinson,  1834)  by  Mrs.  Robiiison.  Franc 
Mlklosick's  "  radices  Slovenica?  veteris  dialccti,"  1845  and  S.  Joan  Chrysos- 
tomi  Homilia  in  raraos  palmarum ;  slovenice,  latine  and  graece,  etc.    G.  C. 


EXCURSUS.  225 

Kirchmayer's  hypothesis  of  a  common  imivtTsal  language,  and  his  opinion 
of  the  Slavic  being  a  daughter  of  the  Celto-Scythic,  deserves  mention  on 
account  of  its  singularity. 

The  best  works  on  the  languages  of  Southwestern  Europe,  are :  M. 
Raynouarffs  grammaire  compar6e  des  langues  de  TEurope  latine  dans  leur 
rapport  avec  la  langue  des  Troubadours,  1821  ;  and  some  other  works  of 
his.  tVled.  Diez^s  Grammatik  der  romanischen  S()rachen,  3  Vol.  1836-1844. 
J.  B.  B.  Roqitefort'' s  glossaire  de  la  langue  Romane,  1808.  Many  good  ma- 
terials on  the  metamorphosis  of  the  Latin  into  the  "lingua  volgare"  may 
be  found  in  A.  MuralorVs  Antiquitates  Ital.  medii  a3vi,  Mediol.  1739.  Bun- 
sen  gives  a  comprehensfve  account  of  the  rise  of  the  Romanic  languages, 
in  the  papers  of  the  Brit.  Associ.,  1847. 

Let  us  conclude  this  short  sketch  with  an  alphabetic  list  of  the  names 
of  men  who  have  influenced  in  various  ways  the  fate  of  languages. 

Alfred  the  Great,  871,  p.  100.  Becker's  Germ,  grammar,  first  rate.  Beke's 
orig.  biblicae.  Benfey's  Greek  grammar,  lexicon  of  roots,  etc.,  1839.  Se- 
nary. Bernhardi.  Comte  de  Bray :  essai  crit.  surla  langue  de  Livonie,  1817. 
De  Brasses :  traits  de  la  formation  mechanique  des  langues  and  des  prin- 
cipes  physiques  de  I'etymologie,  1765.  Bryant's  analysis  of  mythologie. 
Camden.  Mer.  Casanbon :  de  quatuor  linguis :  Graeca,  Lat.,  Hebr.  and  Sax. 
1650.  Chardin  on  Persia.  Charles  the  Great,  768-814.  G.  Curtius  on  the 
results  of  comparative  philology.  Denina^s  clefs  des  langues,  dedicated 
to  Napoleon.  Diesterweg  iiber  Sprach-und  Selbst-unterricht  (on  language 
and  self-teaching)  1835,  Drechsler :  Grundlezung  zur  wissensch.  Con- 
struction des  gesammten  Worter-und  Formen-Schatzes,  1830  (basis  to 
scient.  construction  of  a  universal  word-  and  form-treasury)  ;  treats  some- 
what on  the  signification  of  sounds.  Drummond's  origines.  Faber  on  the 
Cabri. ;  with  futile  etymologies.  Court,  de  Gebelin ;  monde  primitif ; 
fanciful.  Plerquin  de  Gembloux :  idiomologie  des  animaux,  1844 ;  interest- 
ing. Gibson's  views  on  language  are  judicious,  but  not  very  expansive. 
Dr.  Good's  Book  of  Nature  suggests  that  almost  every  dialect  expressed  the 
same  idea  by  the  radical  of  the  Hebrew  ab.  Grotefend's  excellent  works 
on  Latin.  Jos,  v.  Hammer's  first  rate  works  on  many,  especially  on  Shem- 
itic  and  Tataric,  languages,  etc.  Harris's  Hermes,  declared  by  Lowth  "the 
most  beautiful  and  perfect  example  of  analysis.,  .since  Aristotle."  This 
is  saying  rather  too  much  !  31.  Harrison's  rise,  progress,  etc.,  of  the 
Engl.  lang.  Hartung's  Lat.  Syntax,  limps  in  etymology.  Hemsterhuys  has 
thrown  much  light  on  the  organization  of  the  Greek  1.  HenshalVs  ety- 
mol.  organic  reasoner;  on  the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew  in  Gothic,  and  on 
the  Saxon  Durham-book,  1807  ;  polemic.  Hickes^  (see  p.  100).  Ihre  on  Scan- 
dinavian. Junius  on  A.-Saxon.  Jamieson's  etymol.  Scot,  diction,  dwells 
of  Germ,  origins,  though  falling  short  of  the  primitive  sense.  His  "  Hermes 
Scythicus"  points  out  the  common  origin  of  many  Gothic  and  Greek  pre- 
positions, but  often  errs  in  mythic  names.  Ben.  Jonson.  Kdmpfer  on 
Japan.  M.  Kavanagh's  ^'  discovery  of  the  science  of  languages, ^^  Vol.  II.,  Lond. 
1844.  Without  doubt  the  most  flippant  vmrk  in  existence  I  Kircher^s  China  illus- 

11 


226  EXCURSUS. 

trata,  1667.  Jul.  KlaprotJi's  Asia  polyglotta,  accurate  but  very  hypothetic. 
Landseer^s  Sabaean  researches.  LayarcVs  researches.  Lennep's  notions  are 
called  fanciful  by  Bloomfleld;  he  gives  slight  indications,  that  letters 
have  a  meaning  in  themselves.  Lcrscfi's  Sprachphilosophie  der  Alten 
(language-philosophy  of  the  ancients).  Malte-Brun.  MaxwiUlan  /.,  em- 
peror of  Germany,  great  linguist.  Comtc  de  Maistrc.  Menage.  Bar.  de 
Merian^s  principes  d  I'etude  compar.  des  langues,  1828 ;  excellent,  G. 
MlcalVs  storia  degli  antichi  popoli  Ital.  1832.  Michaelis^  de  I'influence 
des  opinions  sur  le  langage,  1762.  Wocher  s  Phonologic ;  new  work.  P. 
F.  J.  Midler's  Ursprache  (original  language)  1815;  guesswork.  Dr.  M. 
Muller's  observ.  on  the  orig.  meanings  of  Sanscrit,  and  suffixes  (in  the  re- 
ports Brit.  Assoc.  1847).  A.  Murray' s  hist,  of  Europ.  languages  (see  page 
181).  NemnicWs  Catholicon ;  terminology  of  navigation,  commerce,  e£c., 
in  several  languages.  P.  Nork's  Lat.  etymol.  Worterb.,  1837,  gives  a 
mystic  account  of  letters,  on  the  principles  of  Kanne.  Pinkerton  (pseu- 
donym Rob.  Heron)  says  that  the  Engl,  language  is  in  want  of  8000  vow- 
el-terminations, when  compared  with  the  Greek !  PrUfer's  kritische  Hebrai. 
Grammatologie,  1847 ;  rather  obscure,  though  full  of  suggestions.  Karl 
iJi^ier's  (the  prince  of  Geo-  and  Ethno-  graphers)  many  excellent  works; 
Berlin.  Ol.  Rudbeck  gives  clumsy  accounts  of  words.  Selden.  Ever. 
Scheide  (edit,  of  Lennep)'s  absurdities  are  only  matched  by  the  trifling 
with  ancient  etymologies,  as  Dr.  Blomfield  says,  Schmitthenner's  deutsche 
Sprache  lehre,  1823-6  ;  valuable.  A.  SchuUens  contributed  towards  putting 
the  study  of  languages  on  a  better  footing.  C.  Schwenck's  etym-mythol. 
Andeutungen,  1823  (etym-  myth,  ninth,  hints) ;  deutch.  Worterbuch  (germ, 
lexicon) ;  latein  etymol.  Lexicon ;  valuable  works.  Skinner  well  deserved 
about  Engl.  Spclman  on  terms  of  law,  on  medieval  words.  Stern's  Grund- 
lage  der  Sprachphilosophy  1835  (basis  of  the  philosophy  of  language).  Dr. 
H.  SteinthaVs  Classific.  der  Sprachen  (classif  of  languages)  ;  and  Ursprung 
der  Sprache  im  Zusammenhange  mit  den  letzten  Fragen  alles  Wissens. 
Endresultat  der  Ansichten  von  W.  Humboldt,  verglichen  mit  denen  Her- 
der's, Hamann's,  1852  (orig.  of  lang,  in  connection  with  the  last  questions 
of  all  knowledge.  Final  result  of  the  views  of  W.  Humboldt,  compared 
with  those  of  Herder,  Hamann).  II.  F,  Talbol-s  Engl.  Etymologies,  1847; 
shallow.  H.  TWje'5  diversions  of  Purley;  explains  conjunctions,  prepo- 
sitions and  other  indeclinable  words;  but  he  often  errs.  Not  used  by  N. 
Webster.  De  Stutt  de  Tracy's  valuable  works.  Trench's  study  of  words, 
1851 ;  shallow,  courting  popularity.  Turgot.  Sharon  Turner  on  A.-Sax- 
ons,  and  his  other  valuable  works.  Gcr.  Vossii's  Latin  etyma  are  often 
conjectural.  G.  Wakefield.  Waechter's  very  valuable  work  on  German, 
written  in  Latin.  St.  Weston's  specimen  of  conformity  of  the  European 
languages,  particularly  of  the  English,  with  oriental  lang.  1802,  W.  IS. 
Winning's  manual  of  comparative  philology,  1838.  Whitcr's  Etymologic, 
magnum  confounds  words  of  different  elements  ;  yet  he  says  that  the  same 
elements  convey  the  same  train  of  ideas, 

New  works  nro  continually  i^ourin":  upon   na.  but  many  of  them  arc 


EXCURSUS.  K^ 

rather  recapitulations  or  rifacciamenti  of  what  had  been  said  hefore,  and 
often  better.  Though  glossology  is  still  far  from  full  maturity,  it  has  fairly 
come  of  age.  It  includes  the  manifestations  of  the  clucking  and  smacking 
Bosjeman,  the  mountain-archives  of  Persia  (p.  24, 106),  the  hissing  "brzmion- 
cy  jezik"  of  the  Pole,  the  jaw-breaking  "  strcz  prst  prz  krk"  (stick  the  fin- 
ger through  the  neck)  of  the  Czech  (Bohemian),  the  sneezing-hissing 
sounds  of  the  Armenian,  the  nasal  twang  of  the  Portuguese,  the  'i  cha'  wa' 
chi'  of  the  Chinese,  the  spell(ing)  bound  English,  etc. 

As  regards  the  science  of  language  in  strict  sense.  Cardinal  Mezzofanti, 
the  peace-making  blacksmith  Elihu  Burritt,  the  learned  father  loanelli  of 
Naples,  are  so  far  from  it,  as  Cuvier,  Goethe,  Liebig  are  from  Barnum,  from 
the  author  of  the  welcome-song  for  Jenny  Lind,  from  the  mental  alchymist 
of  Tripler-hall. 

B)  from  page  20. 

The  various  classifications  of  the  races  of  man  form  a  fit  introduction  to 
that  of  the  languages.    It  is  therefore  that  the  former  are  here  given  first. 

Blumenbach  assumes  5  varieties  (p.  30)  of  men. 

Cuvier  admits  3  stems:  I.  Caucasian,  a)  Armenian,  containing  Assyr,, 
Chald.,  Arab.,  Phoen.,  Hebr.,  Abyssin.  -^gypt  (1)  b)  Indian,  whose  races  are: 
Sanscrit  (anc.  Pers.,  Hind.),  Pelasg.  (Celt.?  Greek.  Latin),  Goth.  (Germ,  and 
Holland.,  Engl.,  Dan.  and  Swed.),  and  Slav.  (Russ.,  Pol.,  Czech,  Wend.), 
lastly  Scyth.  and  Tatar.  (Pafth.,  Turk.,  Fin.,  Magyar.— II.  MongoUc  or  Al- 
taic ;  i.  e.,  Kalmuk,  Kalkas-Mongol,  Mantshu,  Japan,  and  Corean,  Sibir. 
(Samqjed.,  Lap.,  Eskimaux). — III.  Negro  or  jEthiopic  (see  p.  112)  without  a 
sharp  separation  into  races. 

Fischer  (synopsis  mammalium)  admits  7  rac^ :  I.  lapetic,  which  con- 
tains :  Caucas,  (proper  or  Georgi ;  Pelasg.  or  Grk,  Roman  etc. ;  Celt,  or 
Gall.,  Scot,,  Armoraic;  German  or  Teut.,  Engl.,  Dan.,  etc.;  Slavic  or  Boh., 
Pol.,  Litvan,  etc.),  Arab  (Atlantic  or  Phoen.,  Numid.,  Guancho;  Adamic  or 
Abyssin.,  anc.  ^gypt.,  Jews,  Armen.,  Arab),  and  Indie  or  Hindu.— II.  Ma- 
laic,  espec.  Occident.  (New  Zealand,  Soc-,  Friend-.  Sandwich-islands;  anc. 
Peruv. ;  Mexic.  1)  and  Papu  (proper  ;  N.-Guinea,  Waigui,  etc.) — III.  Scythic 
(Kalmuk,  Mongol),  espec.  Sinic  (Chin,,  Cor,.  Jap,,  Tonkin)  and  Hyperbor. 
(Greenland,  Lap.,  Ostiak,  Eskimo). — IV.  Americ:  Patagon. — V.  Columbic : 
natives  of  N.  America,  E, -Mexico,  Antilles,  etc. — VI.  Mthiop.,  espec.  :  Caf- 
fer  (Afric.  betw.  20°  and  42°  S.  lat,,  and  coasts  of  Madagascar)  Melanoides 
or  blackish  (Madagasc. ;  coasts  of  N.-Guinea,  N.  England,  Buka,  Feejee 
isles,  Van  Diemen's  land ;  Papua,  Madecasses)  and  Hottentots  on  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope. — VII.  Polynesian,  i.  e.,  Alfores,  Austral. ;  Molucca  and 
Philipp.  islands  ;  Virzimbs  of  Madagascar. 

Lesson  attempted  2  divisions,  the  last  (in  his  species  de  Mammif^res)  into 
Graces:  I.  White:  Arab  (and  Hebr.),  Caucas.  (proper  and  Greek,  Turk, 
and  Tatar.),  Celt,,  Teuton.  (Scandinav.,  Slav.,  Fin,) — II,  Nnt-broum  or  Black- 
ish: Hindu  (proper,  Gipsy,  Abyssin.,  Ova  or  Madecass),  Caffer,  Papu  (or 
Negro- Malay,  Alfores),  and  Endamen  (Austral). — HI.  Orange-colored  :  Ma- 


228  EXCURSUS. 

lays. — IV.  Yellow :  Mongol  (Chin.,  Tungus,  Kalmuck,  Eskimo),  Mongol* 
Pelasg.  (Tagales,  or  Carolin.,  Oceanic,  Dagak,  which  last  again  :  Batta,  Al- 
forese,  etc.)  Americ.  (Ando-Peru.,  Pampa-Ind  ,  Guaran).— V.  Red:  Caraibs 
(proper,  and  Seneca,  Mohawk,  Chippeway). — VI.  Black:  Negro  or^Ethiop.; 
Asiat.  Negro  (Mihada  or  Pulicda  consisting  of  Bhil-s  of  Maleva,  Kuil-s  of 
Guzerate,  Kuir-s),  Nigritians  or  -^tas  (Negroes  del  monte,  Endamen),  Tas- 
man,  Hottentot ;  Bosjemen. 

DuMERiL  suggested  6  varieties: •  I.  Caucas.  or  Arabo-Europ.  II.  Hyper- 
borae.    III.  Moiigol.    IV.  Americ.     V.  Malay.     VI.  JEthiop. 

LiNDENscHMiT  (Riddlcs  of  the  form-world,  1846)  counts  but  three  races: 
I.  Scyt/is,  small,  with  narrow  slit  in  eyes,  mostly  horsemen.  II.  Celts  or 
Germans,  originary  of  Europe,  blond,  blue-eyed.  Penetrated  as  far  as 
jEgypt,  but  returned  northwards.     IIII.  .^thiops,  Moors. 

Virey  (according  to  the  facial  angle)  distributes  men  into  2  groups, 
containing  6  races :  A)  Fac.  angle  of  S6^  to  90°:  I.  While:  Arab.,  Ind., 
Celt.,  Caucas.  II.  Yellow-brown :  Chin.,  Kalmuk,  Mongol,  Lap.  III.  Cop- 
per-color :  Americ.  or  Caraib.  B)  Fac.  angle  of  75®  lo  85°  :  IV.  Dark-brown, 
Malay  or  Ind.  V.  Black :  Caffre  and  Negro.  VI.  Blackish  :  Hottentott  and 
Papu. 

Desmoulins  divides  thus:  1.  Celt,  Scyth,  Arab.  2.  Mongol.  3.  .^thiop. 
4.  East-Afric.  5.  South- Afric.  6.  Malay  or  Oceanic.  7.  Papu.  8.  Negro- 
Ocean.     9.  Austral.     10.  Colurabi.     11.  Americ. 

Bory  de  St.  Vincent  bases  his  distribution  into  15  stems,  on  the  hair: 
I.  Smooth  straight  haired:  A)  in  Old  World:  1.  lape'ic :  a)  wide  dress,  wo- 
men slaves  :  Caucas.  race  (Mingrel,  Circass.,  Grusin.)  and  Pelasg.  race  (an- 
cient Greeks  and  Romans),  Z>)  close-fitting  dress,  women  free:  Celt,  race 
(anci.  Britons,  Gauls),  ajid  German  race  (Teutons  and  Slavons).  2.  Arabic: ' 
Atlantic  race  (Anci.  ^gypt..  North  Africans),  b)  Adamitic  race  (Hebr.  and 
other  Syri).  3.  Indic.  4.  Scylhic,  in  Buchary,  Daury,  East  of  Caspian  sea, 
etc.  5.  Chinese.  6.  Hyperbor. :  Lap.,  Samojed,  etc.  7.  Ncptuiiic :  a)  Ma- 
lays, b)  Oceanians,  c)  mixed  Papus-race.  8.  Australian.  B)  In  New  World  : 
9.  Columbian  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  Mexico,  on  the  Antilles,  in  Guyana 
and  Cumana.  10.  American  on  the  Orinoco  and  Amazon  rivers,  in  Brazil, 
Paraguay  and  Chile.  11.  Pat  agonic.  11.  With  curly  hair:  in  Africa  and  in 
the  South-sea:  12,  JE^thiop.  negroes  of  Mid-Africa.  :  13.  Cafres  of  South- 
Africa.  14.  Mdanic  or  black :  Madagascar,  N.-Guinea,  Fetgec-isles,  Van 
Diemen's  land.     15.  Hottentotts. 

LINN.EUS  Martin  (Nat.  hist.  Man,  1844)  makes  5  stems:  I.  lapetic: 
head  oval ;  front  free  ;  nose  prominent ;  cheek-bones  scarcely  protuberant ; 
zygomatic  arch  moderately  depressed ;  cars  small  and  close  to  the  skull ; 
teeth  vertical;  chin  well-shaped;  hair  long,  rarely  curly,  never  woolly; 
beard  full ;  color  various.  Europcajis  :  Celts  (peoples  with  sundry  dialects, 
anciently  in  Gaul,  Lower-Germany,  Italy,  Si)ain  and  on  British  isles),  Pelas- 
gi  (Greeks,  Romans),  Teutons  (Goths,  Vandals,  Alemans,  Franks,  Germans, 
Angles,  etc.,  in  N.-Western  Europe),  Slaves  (Russ.,  Pol.,  Croats,  Boh.,  Bul- 
gars,  Kosaks).  .  Asiatics :  Tatars  (anci.  Scyths,  Purths,  Tatars,  Kirgises,  Us- 


EXCURSUS,  229 

becks),  Caucasians  (Gnissin  or  Georg.,  Tsherkess,  Mingrelians),  Semits 
(Arabs,  Hebr.,  Assyr.,  Chald.,  Phoen.)  Sanscritans  or  Hindus.  Africans, 
Mizramites  (anci.  -^gypt.  and  -^thiop.,  Abyssin,,  Berbers,  Guanches  of  the 
Canary  Islands). 

TI.  Neptnnic:  head-round,  sometimes  flattened  at  the  sides ;  face  somewhat 
oval ;  cheek-bones  and  zygoma  protuberant ;  eyes  more  apart  than  No.  I., 
and  somewhat  leaning  towards  the  nose ;  iris  black ;  teeth  vertical ;  hair 
long,  straight,  black;  beard  thin;  limbs  well-shaped  ;  soles  little;  skin  tan- 
colored  or  yellowish-brown.  Malays,  native  of  the  Malayan  peninsula  and 
inhabitants  of  the  coasts  of  the  Indie  archi-pelago.  Polynesians  (Ovas  of 
Madagascar,  N.-Zealand,  Sandwich-isles  ;  perhaps  also  founders  of  the  Pe- 
ruvian and  Mexican  Empires). 

III.  MoNGOLic :  head  raised  at  vertex ;  cheeks  and  zygoma  prominent 
and  very  broad ;  platter-face ;  eyes  small,  button-hole-like,  aslant ;  eyelids 
swollen,  upright ;  brows  arched  ;  nose  squashed,  widely  open  nostrils ;  chin 
retiring  almost  beardless;  deeply  marked  countenance,  at  times  with 
ruddy  tints ;  ears  great  and  wide ;  mouth  wide,  teeth  vertical ;  hair 
coarse,  stiff,  black ;  skin  yellow-brown,  tanned ;  considerable  variety  of 
stature.  Mongols:  Mongol- Tatars,  Mantshu,  Kalmuck,  Chin.,  Corean, 
Japan.,  Thibet.,  Butans,  Owans,  Peguans,  Siamese,  etc.  Hyperboreans :  Os- 
tiaks,  Tungus,  Samojed.,  Tshuktsh,  Laps,  Eskimos. 

IV.  Prognatic:  head  compressed  sideways  ;  cheeks  and  zygoma  promi- 
nent ;  front  narrow,  jaws  great,  protuberant ;  incisores-teeth  obliquely  for- 
ward ;  lips  swollen ;  nose  flattened,  with  wide  thrils ;  hair  mostly  woolly, 
rarer  curly  or  stiff  and  long ;  beard  thin  and  stiff;  skin  black  to  brown. 
Afric.  Negroes  and  Caftres,  Hottentots :  Namaaquas,  Coras,  Gonaaquas,  Saabs 
(Bosjemen).  Papus :  N.-Guineans,  Feejee-isles,  Van  Diemen's  land,  Mada- 
gasc.  Alfurus  :  N.-Guinea,  some  islanders  of  the  Indie  archipelago,  N.-Hol- 
land.,  and  Virzimbres  of  Madagascar. 

V.  Occidental:  head- vertex  high  (unless  artificially  depressed);  front 
flat ;  cheeks  and  zygoma  prominent ;  eyes  narrowly  split,  mostly  oblique ; 
nose  tolerably  high,  sometimes  depressed  with  wide  open  thrils ;  mouth 
large  ;  teeth  somewhat  aslant ;  beard  thin ;  hair  long,  bristly,  black ;  skin 
dark-yellow  or  coppery.  Columbians :  N.  Americ.  Ind.,  natives  of  Mexico, 
Florida  and  Caraib  isles,  of  Yucatan  and  Columbia,  as  far  as  to  the  equator ; 
S.-Americans  on  the  Orinoco,  in  Brazil,  Paraguay  and  Chile  (Aturs,  Oto- 
maks,  Botocudos),  Pato.gonia>ns. 

Prichard  (Research,  into  t.  physic,  hist,  of  Mankind)  classifies  from 
the  shape  of  the  skull,  modified  by  other  characters,  into  7  races  (see  p. 
30)  understanding  by  Iranians  the  Europeans  and  their  kindred,  by  Tura- 
nians the  Mongols,  Kalmucks,  Chin.,  and  exempting  the  Eskimos  from 
Americans. 

BuRMEisTER  (Hist  of  Crcatiou)  makes  3  stems :  I.   With  elliptic  skull  and 

I,  with  black  curly  hair :  Negroes,  Papus  ;  2,  brown  curly  hair :  Hotten- 
totts,  3,  red-brown  straight  hair:    Caraibs  and  many  other  Americans. 

II.  WU/i  squarish  skull :   black-brown  hanging  hair,  oblique  eyes,  broad 


230 


EXCURSUS. 


nose,  yellow  skin  :  Mongol,  Chin.,  Samojed,  and  some  Americans.— III.  WUk 
oval  skull:  all  Caucasians  of  Blumenbach,  many  South-sea  Islanders  and 
probably  the  ancient  Mexic. 

The  scheme  of  Zeune  (on  skull-lbrmation,  etc.,  1846)  is  too  artificial  to 
be  true.    Six  races. 


West  hemisphere 


North 


.    ^ 


East  hemisphere 


Apalachian  or  Natchez. 
Guianic  or  Caraibe. 
Peruvian  or  Inca. 


I. -High-skull. 
II.  Broad-skull. 
III.  Long-skull. 


Caucas.  or  Iranian.  j 

Mongol,  or  Turanian, 
-^thiop.  or  Sudan. 


South. 

Klemm  distinguishes  the  active  from  the  passive  stems  in  the  history  of 
mankind. 

Those  divisions  labor  in  nomenclature  and  in  their  principle  which  lacks 
co-ordination. 

The  8th  section  of  Berghaus'  physical  atlas  contains  details  on  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  single  races.    See  also  Johnston's  geolog.  Atlas. 


INDO-EUROPEAN   LANGUAGES. 

This  most  important  of  all  the  families  of  languages  may  conveniently 
be  divided  into  the  following  six  classes : 

1.  The  Indian  (by  sbme  writers  called  Gentoo,  by  others  Aryan).  In  this 
the  Sanskrita  (or  the  perfect  language,  the  sacred  1.  of  the  Brahmins)  bears 
the  palm  over  all  members  of  this  family,  respecting  copiousness,  beauty 
and  development,  as  well  as  the  antiquity  of  its  literary  monuments,  which 
reach  into  almost  the  sixteenth  century  before  our  era.  The  graphic  system 
of  this  language  is  used,  variously  modified,  for  almost  all  the  languages  of 
India,  and  for  many  others  in  the  neighboring  countries,  pp.  90,  91.  Tho 
PracrUa  (or  the  vulgar  language),  was  a  sister  of  the  former.  Another  less 
rude  dialect  than  this,  the  Pali,  has  been  carried  by  Buddhist  priests  into 
Ceylon,  Thibet,  Tatary  and  China.  In  consequence  of  many  invasions  by 
various  nations,  and  chiefly  by  the  votaries  of  the  Koran,  these  ancient 
tongues,  in  mingling  with  those  of  the  conquerors,  produced  new  ones.  Of 
these,  the  Hindostanee,  a  mixture  of  Sanscrit  with  Arabic,  predominates  on 
the  Indus,  in  the  Mogulic  districts,  and  in  all  Mah  ^medan  India.  On  the 
Ganges,  the  Bengalee,  which  has  less  deviated  from  the  original,  is  spoken 
by  the  worshippers  of  Brahma.  The  language  of  Cashmir,  of  the  SiJchSj 
and  Makratlas,  arose  in  the  northern  regions.  The  Zlgan  {Zingali  or  Gip^ 
sy)  language  has  been  introduced  into  Europe.    Tho  Malabar ic,  Tamulic^ 


EXCURSUS.  231 

and  Telinga,  are  spoken  on  the  sea- shores,  the  Cingalese  in  Ceylon,  the 
Maldlvian  and  many  other  dialects  and  jargons  (for  instance  those  of  Can- 
ara^  Giizcrat^  Nepal,  Multan,  the  Garrows,  etc.),  in  different  provinces  of 
tlie  continent  and  on  islands. 

II.  The  Iranian,  whose  prototype,  the  Zend  (the  sacred  language  of  the 
Magi,  of  Zoroaster)  is  preserved  in  the  fragments  of  the  Zend-Avesta ;  it 
was  spoken  by  the  ancient  Persians.  The  Pazend  was  a  dialect  of  it.  To 
these  succeeded  the  language  of  the  Medians  and  Parthians,  called  Pehlvi 
or  Hiiziuaresh.  Both  were  written  in  wedgelike  characters  before  the  intro- 
duction of  an  alphabet.  During  the  dominion  of  the  Sassanides,  the  old 
rude  idiom  of  Farsistan,  which  had  developed  itself  at  the  commencement 
of  our  era,  supplanted  the  Pehlvi,  and  was  itself  altered,  by  the  influence 
of  the  Arabic,  into  the  present  Persian.  This  is  the  most  polished  of  the 
living  languages  Asia.  The  Afghanic  or  Pushtoo  in  Cabool  and  Canda- 
har,  the  Beloochcc^  the  Curdle,  and  the  Osseiic  in  the  Caucasus,  resemble 
the  modern  Persian,  more  or  less. 

III.  The  Thraco-Pelasgic  (or  Phrygian)  divisible  into  four  branches, 
namely  : 

1.  The  Thracian  branch  used  in  Asia  Minor  by  the  Phrygians,  Bifhyn- 
ians,  Paphlagonians,  Trojans,  Lydians,  Carians,  etc.,  and  in  Europe,  by 
the  Thracians,  Macedonians,  Illyrians,  Pannonians,  etc.,  in  as  many  dia- 
lects. Some  traces  of  these  extinct  idioms  remain  in  the  present  language 
of  the  {^Arnauts  Skipetars)  Albaniaiis. 

2.  The  Pelasgia7i  in  Thessaly,  Epirus,  Asia  Minor,  on  the  shores  of  Italy 
and  Greece,  and  on  the  islands. 

Out  of  these  arose  the  Hellenic  (or  ancieiit  Greek)  on  the  i^eculiarities 
and  dialects  of  which  it  is  deemed  superfluous  to  enlarge  here.  The  mod- 
em  Greek  (or  Romaic)  is  a  modification  of  the  Hellenic,  by  the  Slavic,  Ital- 
ian, Turkish,  etc. 

3.  The  Etruscan  {Rhasena),  which  seems  to  have  been  an  amalgam  of 
the  Pelasgic,  Lydian  and  Celtic,  and  of  which  few  monuments  have  reached 
our  time. 

4.  The  language  of  the  Romans  (with  older  forms  thon  the  Cheek)  is  the 
result  of  a  coalition  of  the  Umbric,  Oscan,  Sabine,  Etruscan  and  other  dia- 
lects of  ancient  Italy,  modified  by  the  Hellenic. 

From  the  corruption  of  Latin  and  the  admixture  of  Celtic,  Teutic,  etc., 
arose  the  Romanic  (or  language  of  the  Troubadours),  the  Italian,  Rhaetian, 
French,  Spanish,  Portuguese  and  partly  the  English,  in  the  south-west  of 
Europe,  and  the  Valachian,  in  Eastern  Europe.  In  the  English,  however, 
the  Teutic  element  predominates  ;  while  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  have 
a  touch  of  the  Basque,  Phenician,  and  Arabic,  and  the  Valachian  of  the 
Slavic,  Magyar  (Hungarian)  and  Turkish. 

IV.  The  Celtic,  being  most  removed  in  space  and  time  from  its  Asiatic 
sister,  exhibits  marks  of  the  highest  antiquity  and  of  rude  originality.  It 
consists  of  two  branches,  to  wit : 

1.  The  Gaelic  branch  of  which  the  GaelU  proper  is  spoken  in  the  High- 


232  EXCURSUS. 

lands  of  Scotland,  while  another  idiom,  the  J^rse,  prevails  in  Ireland,  and 
still  another  on  the  Isle  of  Man. 

2.  The  Cymric  (or  BrUtannic  or  Cambrian)  the  old  language  of  the  Bei- 
ges, consisting  of  three  dialects :  the  Welch  of  Wales  and  some  other  por- 
tions of  England  ;  the  Armorican  (Breyzad  or  Bas  Breton)  in  France,  and 
the  now  extinct  Cornish  of  Cornwall,  only  preserved  in  some  writings. 

V.  The  Teutic,  divisible  into  two  departments,  viz.  : 

1.  The  SmUhern,  which  comprises  the  following  idioms  :  i\\QM(BSo- Goth- 
ic, known  by  the  translation  of  the  gospels  by  Uljllas,  preserved  in  the 
Codex  Argenteus  at  Upsala  (p.  99)  ;  the  Flranco-  Theotislic,  the  Alamanic^ 
the  High-German,  or  present  principal  language  of  Germany. 

2.  The  Northern,  which  consists  of  the  following  tongues  :  the  Icelandic 
{^Old-Norse),  the  Frisian,  Anglo-Saxon  and  Julie,  the  present  HuUandish 
(vulgo  Dutch)  and  Flemish,  the  Danish,  Swedish ;  the  Platt-deutsch,  on  the 
shores  of  Germany. 

The  languages  of  the  Alans,  Heruli,  Scirri,  Gepids,  Vandals,  Burgundi- 
ans,  hangobards,  etc.,  people  who  stormed  and  overthrew  the  Roman  em- 
pire, were  Teutic  dialects,  of  which  traces  may  be  found  in  several  coun- 
tries of  Europe,  especially  in  Hungary,  Transylvania,  and  in  the  Crimea. 
As  to  the  dialects  of  the  German,  they  correspond  with  the  divisions  of  the 
nation,  and  are  the  Saxon,  Swabian,  Austrian,  Franconic,  Siciss,  etc. 

With  the  amalgam  of  Anglo-Saxon,  Jutic  and  Danish,  very  slightly  af- 
fected by  the  Celtic  dialects,  a  barbarous  kind  of  Latin  and  a  portion  of 
rude  Norman- French,  have  been  conglomerated  into  the  present  English 
language,  which  on  account  of  that  aggregation,  and  perhaps  more  in  con- 
sequence of  a  sad  want  of  taste  and  courage  in  'its  grammarians  and  lexi- 
cographers, has  become  the  most  motley  of  all  existing  languages. 

The  present  languages  of  the  South  of  the  European  continent  owe 
their  genius  and  gramniatical  forms  to  the  Teutic,  while  their  material  is 
for  the  most  part  Latin ;  both  elements  being  modified,  as  stated  under 
No.  IIL4. 

VL  The  Slavic  in  Eastern  Europe  and  in  some  districts,  of  Northwest- 
ern Asia,  is  probably  the  latest  immigrant  from  middle  Asia  into  that 
part  of  it,  which  is  called  Europe.  It  is  most  appropriately  divisible  into 
two  groups,  namely,  into  the  Slavic  proper  and  Lcttic. 

1.  The  Slavic  proper  is  again  subdivisible  into  : 

a)  The  southeastern  section  of  the  Antes,  to  which  belong  the  following 
tongues :  the  Church  (or  a7tcw?7j.^)-language,  the  Serbian,  Russniak,  Croatian, 
Vendic,  etc. 

b)  The  northwestern  section  of  the  Slaveni  which  comprises :  the  Chech- 
ic,  {Czeski,  or  Bohemian,)  the  Slovak  (or  Slovenski)  in  Hungary,  the  Polish, 
the  Sorabo-  Vendic  in  Lusatia,  Saxony,  etc. 

Besides  these  there  are  many  dialects  of  less  importance,  to  wit :  the 
Bulgarian,  Bosnian,  Dalmatian,  Silcsian,  Cassublan,  etc. 

2.  The  Lettic  grouj)  has  lost  one  of  its  members,  the  Prussian,  of  which 
perhaps  the  only  existing  record  is  a  catecljism  of  the  sixteenth  century, 


EXCURSUS.  233 

and  even  this  only  a  translation  from  German,  with  which  its  style  is  cor- 
rupted. As  to  the  other  dialects,  namely,  the  Litvanian  (wrongly  written 
Lithuanian)  and  Lettic  proper,  their  importance  is  of  the  highest  order,  as 
regards  their  great  similarity  to  the  Sanscrit  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the 
Latin  on  the  other.  The  names  Curland,  Livonia,  Liluania,  Lettic,  com- 
pared with  Cures  {Quiritcs),  Latin,  Lavinium,  show  more  than  an  accident- 
al agreement,  and,  connected  as  they  are  with  other  philologic  and  ethno- 
graphic analogies,  they  indicate  a  great  affinity  of  the  respective  nations. 

Imbedded  in  the  great  strata  of  the  European  languages  of  the  Sanscrit 
(Indian)  family,  the  following  of  other  families  are  found  in  various  parts 
of  Europe : 

1.  The  Euscara  {Bascongada,  Basque)  in  the  north  of  Spain,  and  in  some 
Pyrenean  districts  of  France.  Its  isolated  position,  its  existence,  since 
time  immemorial,  in  the  greatest  southern  peninsula  of  Europe,  the  coinci- 
dence of  the  name  of  the  Iberians  (whose  language  it  must  have  been) 
with  that  of  Iberia  (or  Georgia)  in  Asia  on  one  hand,  and  its  polysynthet- 
ism,  betraying  an  analogy  to  the  Tataric  family  of  languages  on  the  other, 
render  it  more  w^orthy  of  scrutiny  than  any  other  language  of  Europe. 

2.  The  Magyar  (^Hungarian),  most  probably  connected  with  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Huns,  Avares;  with  the  ancient  language  of  the  Bulgai-ians 
(which  was  distinct  from  the  Slavic  of  the  present  Bulgarians)  ;  and  prob- 
ably with  that  of  the  Chazars,  is  scarcely  less-  important  to  philology  than 
the  former,  which  it  resembles  in  several  particulars.  It  shows,  moreover, 
affinities  to  the  following  two  : 

3.  The  language  of  the  Suomo-laine  (or  Fins,  or  Tshudes),  in  the  north 
of  Europe  and  Asia,  comprising  the  idioms  of  the  Esthes  and  Lappons, 

4.  The  Osmanli  (or  Turkish)  which  is  collateral  to  the  language  of  the 
Ooigoors  and  of  other  Tataric  nations. 

5.  The  Maltese,  which  is  an  odd  mixture  of  corrupt  Arabic,  Teutic, 
Italian  and  Greek. 

C)  from  pp.  37  to  42,  from  63  to  55 ;  see  also  pp.  69,  75,  94,  96  to  98. 

PRONUNCIATION    OF    LATIN. 

M.  Quinctil.  1,  I.  c.  7.  '^  Ai  syllabam,  cujus  secundam  nunc  e  literam 
ponimus,  varie  per  a  et  i  efferebant;  quidam  semper  ut  Graeci,  quidam 
singulariter  tantum,  cum  in  dativum,  vel  genitivum  casum  incidissent." — 
Velius  Longus  :  "  Ea  quae  nos  per  ae,  antiqui  per  ai  scriptitaverunt,  Juliai 
Claudiai.  Et  nihil  obstat,  quo  minus  hoc  aut  illo  modo  scribamus  in  utro- 
que  numero." — Terentianus:  "Alpha  semper  atque  Iota,  quem  parant 
Graeci  sonum,  a  et  e  nobis  ministrant :  sic  nos  scribimus." — Scaurus: 
"  Apud  antiques  i  litera  pro  e  scribebatur,  ut  testantur  metaplasmi  in  qui- 
bus  est  ejusmodi  syllabarum  deductio,  ut  Pictai  vestis,  et  Aulai  in  medio, 
pro  pidae  et  aulae ;  sed  iiiagis  in  illis  e  novissima  sonat,  et  praeterea  quo- 
que  antiqui  Graecorum  banc  syllabam  per  ae  scripsisso  traduntur." 
11* 


234  EXCtTRSUS. 

ATI.  Pestus :  "  Aulas  antiqui  dicebant,  quas  nos  dicimus  nllas,  quia  nul- 
lam  literam  geminabant.  AuxUla,  olla  parviila.  Ansadari  pro  osculari^ 
quod  est  os  cum  ore  confcrre.  Aurum  rustici  or  urn  dicebant,  et  auriculas^ 
oriculas,  atque  ex  hoc  formavit  Catullus  oriclllam.'"—Priscian  :  "  Au  vide- 
tur  quasi  pati  divisionem,  cum  o  post  u  addita,  transit  cadem  u  in  conso- 
nantis  potestatem,  ut  gaudeo,  gavisus ;  nautes,  vavr-qi  navita ;  vavs  navis. 
Contra  fit  a  lav  or,  lautus;  faveo,  fautor;  avis,  auceps,  augurium,  augustus. 
Transit  quoque  au  in  o  productam  more  antiquo,  ut  lotus  pro  lautus,  plos- 
trum  pro  plauslrum ;  cotes  pro  cautcs  :  sicut  etiam  contra  o,  au,  ut  austrum 
pro  ostrum,  ausculum  pro  osculum,  frequentissimcque  hoc  faciebant  antiqui. 

OE.  F^stus:  "  Ab  tfZ(;e5  dicebant  antiqui  pro  2ib  illis ;  nam  literam  non 
geminabant.  Pilumnoc,  poploe  in  carmine  Saliari  sunt  Romani,  velut  pilis 
uti  assueti." — Scrvius:  ^^  Moerorum  antiqui  pro  murorum;  nam  veteres 
pleraque  eorum,  quae  nos  per  u  dicimus.  per  oe  diphthongon  pronunciabant: 
et  contra  punio,  pro  poenio,  quod  verbum  a  poena  venit.  Hinc  est,  "  Pu- 
nica  regna  vides,  cum  Poenos  ubique  legerimus." 

C.  Festus  :  "  Prisci  pro  acipenser  dicebant  aquipenscr,  pro  sexdecim  sex- 
dequim.  Ex  KoipKepa  fecerunt  febrim  guerqueram  et  carcerem,  quia  scilicet 
KdpKep  efierebant." — Quinct.:  "  Quidam /i:  necessarium  credunt  quoties  a 
sequatur,  cum  sit  C  litera,  quae  ad  omnes  vocales  vim  suam  perferat." — 
Julius  Hyginus  apud  Servium:  "  Cum  Romani,  euntes  per  Tusciam  inter- 
rogarent  Agyllinos,  quae  diccretur  civitas,  illi,  ut  pote  Graeci,  quid  audi- 
rent  ignorantes,  et  optimum  ducentes,  si  eos  prius  salutarent,  dixerunt 
X«'/>e ;  quam  salutationem  Romani  nomen  civitatis  esse  putaverunt  et  de- 
tracta  adspiratione,  earn  Caere  nominaverunt."  Hence  caercmonia,  or  cere- 
monia. 

G.  Festus :  *'  Antiqui  per  c  literae  formam  nihilominus  g  usurpabant. 
Acetare  dicebant  pro  oigitare;  prodigia  quod  prodicant  futura,  permutationc 
g  literae ;  nam  quae  nunc  g  appellatur,  ab  antiquis  c  vocabatur.  Quincen- 
turn  per  c  literam  usurpabant  antiqui ;  negotium,  quod  non  sit  otium  ;  neg- 
ligens  dictus  est  non  legens,  neque  delectum  habens,  quid  facere  debeat, 
omissa  ratione  officii  sui." — Victorin:  "Pro  agro  Gadino  dicebant  Cabino ; 
pro  lege,  lece ;  acna  pro  agna.  Audio  certe  ab  augendo  dicta  est ;  et  Hu- 
meri cum  c  habeant,  ut  ducenti,  sexcenti,  g  reliqui  habent,  ut  quadringenti, 
nongenti.'" — Scaurus  :  "  Camelum  alii  dicunt,  alii  Gamelum.  Negotiuvi  dic- 
tum est  quia  nee  otium.'" 

K.  Priscian :  "iC  et  Q,  quamvis  figura  et  nomine  videantur  aliquam 
habere  diflferentiam,  cum  c  tamcn  eandem  tam  in  sono  vocum,  quam  in  me- 
tro continent  potestatem.  Et  k  quidem  penitus  supervacua  est;  nulla 
cnim  ratio  videtur,  cur  a  scquente  k  scribi  debeat." — Scaurus :  "Antiqui 
in  connexione  syllabarum  ibi  tantum  k  utebantur,  ubi  a  litera  subjungenda 
erat :  quoniam  multis  vocalibus  instantibus,  quoties  id  verbum  scribendum 
erat,  in  quo  retinere  hac  literae  nomen  suum  possent,  singulae  pro  syllaba 
scribebantur,  tanquam  satis  cam  ipso  nomine  explerent,  ut  puta  decimus  d 
per  se,  indo  cimus ;  item  cera,  c  simplex  et  ra  et  bene  bnc.  Ita  et  quoties 
kanus  et  kariis  scribendum  erat,  quia  singulis  Uteris  primae  syllabae  nota- 


EXCURSUS.  235 

bantur,  k  prima  ponebatur,  quae  suo  nomen  a  continebat ;  quia  si  c  posuis- 
sent,  cenus  et  cerus  futurum  erat,  non  canus  et  carus." 

Q.  Quinctil. :  *'  Duras  facit  syllabas  q,  quae  ad  conjungendas  dcmum 
subjectas  sibi  vocales  est  utilis,  alias  supervacua,  ut  equus  ac  equum  scribi- 
mus,  cum  ipsaj  etiam  hae  vocales  duai  efficiunt  sonum,  qualis  apud  Graecos 
nullus  est,  ideoque  scribi  illorum  literis  non  potest. — "  Cum  is  canditatus 
qui  coqui  filius  habebatur,  coram  Cicerone  suffragium  ab  alio  peteret,  Ego 
quoque,  Cicero  inquit,  tibi  jure  favebo,  pro  ego  coquet — Donalns:  "  Cicero- 
nis  dictum  refertur  in  eum,  qui  coqui  filius  secum  causas  agebat.  Tu,  quo- 
que  aderas  huic  causcB  ;  nam  veteres,  coquus  non  per  c  literam  scd  per  q  scri- 
bebant." — Velius  Long. :  "Cocum  nonnulli  in  utraque  syllaba  per  ^,  scri- 
bunt  nonnulli  et  inserta  u.  In  verbo  enim  coquere,  pro  quoquere,  Nisus  cen- 
set  ubique  c  literam  ponendam,  tam  in  nomine,  quam  in  verbo."  "  De  q 
litera  quaesitum  est,  et  multi  illam  excluserunt,  quoniam  nihil  aliud  sit 
quam  c  et  u^  et  non  minus  possit  scribi  quis  per  c  et  w,  et  i  et  s.  Ideoque 
non  nulli  quis  et  qucz  et  quid,  scripserunt  qis,  qce,  qid ;  quoniam  scilicet  q 
esset  c  et  w." — "  Quor  est  cui  rei,  quod  significat  ob  quam  rem.  Ex  hoc  re- 
tinuit  consuetudo  hodierna,  ut  diceremus  quare.  Quor  una  syllaba  castiga- 
tum  fit  cu7',  quod  nos  contenti  sumus  per  c  scribere." — Festus  :  ''Quando  et 
cuando  ab  Ennio  scriptum  invenitur.  Quaxare  pro  coaxare  ranae  dicuntur, 
cum  vocem  mittunt.  Qucrquera  Graeco  KcipKcpa  certum  est  dici.  unde  et 
Career.  Querquelum,  pro  quercetum.^^ — Priscian :  "  Apud  antiques  frequen- 
tissime  loco  cu  syllabae  quu  ponebatur,  et  e  contrario,  ut  arquus,  coquus, 
oquulus\quum,  quur." — Donatus:  "  Cui  peri/  veteres scripsere.  Nimirum ni- 
hil inter  qui  et  cui  interest,  nisi  quod  diphthongus  alitor  atque  alitor  efFera- 
tur,  ut  scilicet  modo  u,  modo  i  integrum  tempus  consumat." — Scaurus : 
"  Quis  quidam  per  cuis  scribunt,  quoniam  supervacuam  esse  q  literam  pu- 
tant.  Sed  nos  c  in  dativo  ponemus,  ut  sit  differentia  cui  et  qui ;  quamquam 
secundum  analogiam  omnes  partes  orationis,  quae  per  casus  declinantur, 
eandem  literam  in  prima  parte  omnis  casus  serveut,  quam  in  nominativo 
habuerint.  Cum  quidam,  nonnulli  quom  scribunt,  quidam  etiam  esse  differ- 
entiam  putant,  quod  praepositio  quidem  per  c  adverbium  autem  per  q  de- 
beat  scribi,  ut  cum  Claudia,  quom  legissem :  quoniam  antiqui  pro  hoc  ad- 
verbio  C7^wie  dicebant,  ut  Numa  in  Saliari  carmine." — Annoxus  Cornutus: 
"  Quoiidie  sunt  qui  per  co,  cotidie  scribant,  quibus  peccare  licet  desinerent, 
si  scirent  inde  tractum  esse  a  qiwt  diebus,  hoc  est,  omnibus  diebus." — Pa- 
pyrianus:  "Reliquiae  et  reliqui  per  c  scribebantur,  cotidie  per  c  et  o  dicitur 
etscribitur,  pro  q ;  quia  non  quotidie,  sed  a  continente  die  dictum  est." — Vic- 
torin:  "Li-cinius  Calvus  (/litera  non  est  usus.  Antiqui  cum  adverbium 
scribebant,  quatuor  literis,  quom,  sed  pronunciabant  tamen  perinde  ac  si 
cum  scriptum  esset." 

X.  QuincL  I.  iv. :  Et  nostrarum  ultima  x,  qua  tamen  carere  potuimus, 
si  non  quaesissemus." — Victor  in.  2iTS  gramm.  I. :  "  Latini  voces  quae  in  a; 
literam  incidunt,  si  yi  declinatione  earum  apparebat  g,  scribebant  «-s,  ut  con- 
iugs,  legs.'' — Prisciak.  I. :  "  x  duplicem  loco  c  et  s,  vel  g  et  s  postea  a  Graecia 
inventam,  assumpsimus,  ut  dux,  duels ;  rex,  regis." — Cicero  de  oral. :  "  Verba 


236  EXCURSUS. 

saej^^ontrahuntur,  non  usus  causa,  sed  aurium :  quomodo  cdIiti  vester  Axil- 
la, Ahala  factus  est,  nisi  fugaliterae  vastioris  1  qiiam  literam  etiara  e  maxillis 
e  taxillis  et  vexillo  et  paxillo,  consuetudo elegans  Latini  sermonis  evellit.  Ma- 
luerunt  scilicet  dicere  malas,  ialos^  velum  ct palum.  Ita  et  sedecim  pro  sexdecim, 
sedigitus  pro  sexdigitus. 

Isidor :  Ante  Augustum  cs  vice  x. 

PARALLELS  OP    WORDS  SHOWING  THE    GENUINE    SOUND  OF   THE  C  AND  g  BEFORE 
e    AND   i   IN  LATIN. 

Without  speaking  of  syllables  in  the  middle  of  words,  of  proper  names, 
and  of  the  host  of  those  words  in  which  c,  g,  h,  are  followed  by  a,  o,  u,  Z,  r, 
n,  and  some  other  consonants,  and  which  correspond,  in  their  root-significa- 
tion, with  Latin  words,  wherein  c  and  g  are  followed  by  e  and  i ;  the  follow- 
ing list,  containing  the  latter  combinations,  is  given,  as  sufficient  as  suffi- 
cient to  prove  the  point  in  question,  to  every  mind  that  is  free  from  the 
tyranny  of  the  prevailing  cacoepy  of  Latin. 

In  the  Celtic  and  the  ancient  Teutic  dialects,  the  c  and  g  were  every- 
where, without  exception,  pronounced  hard. 

Some  of  the  words  which  are  put  parallel  to  the  Latin  words,  are  not 
translations,  but  words  from  the  same  root,  which  carry  the  same  idea; 
though  it  may  be  differently  modified  by  appropriation,  and  appear  as  dif- 
ferent parts  of  speech.  For  instance,  clam  in  Latin,  clam  in  English,  and 
clam-Sitz  in  Slavic,  will  not  exactly  translate  each  other,  but  all  convey  tho 
idea  of  closing  in  a  secretive  manner :  clam-3iiz  means  to  deceive,  a  clam  is 
an  animal  hidden  in  a  shell,  and  clam  in  Latin  signifies  secretly. 

The  abbreviations  designate :  E.  English,  A.  S.  Anglo-Saxon,  G.  Gothic, 
Gr.  German,  L  Icelandic. 

Kal,  -que.  r  KLyK\is,  cancelli, 

Kelpoj  {^vpca,  Kopiwy  Gr.  kehren.)  sche-  Ki^dpa,  cithara. 

ren.  Kl^apos,  thorax  (cista  ;  E.  chest.) 

KeKTjs,    E.  race-horse  ;  Aeol.    k4\7ip  ;  KiKiyvos,  cincinnus. 

whence  Celeres,  celsus  (instead  of  kIkko^,  ciccus. 

eques)  Fest.  klXikiov,  cilicium. 

K€\\bj,  cello,  percello.  k(\K(c,  cillo,  cello. 

ic€ur((t}  Kcj/Tpo I/,  centrum,  etc.  /ctVatSoy,  cinaedus. 

K^pajxos,  career  (in   the  Cyprian   dia-  Kivdoa,  cinara. 

Jeci.)  /f/z/ew,  cieo  ;  E.  go,  gone. 

Kipas,  cornu  ;  whence  cervus,  E.  hart  KipKos,  circus,  circulus,  circinus. 

(horned.)  kktttj,  cista. 

Kcpdos,  lu-cruni  {carum  dans.)  kIw,  cio,  cito. 

K€(Tr6sy  cestiis.  kvk\os,  circulus. 

K€v^co,  celo  ;  Kvco,  Kvioo.  KvXa  KoTXa,  cilia. 

K€(pa\'f),  caput.  Kv\\6s,  curvus,  ko7\os,  ov,  coelum. 

KTjSos,  cura.  Kvpios,  herus 

K'n\6oj,  (Kaico,)  candeo,  incendo,  etc.  Compare  furthermore  ;  Kivudfiapt;  kiv- 
K?)j/(7oy,  census.  yd/jLMfxou  ;  KtpKaia  ;  Ktrp4a  ;  kvo^os  ; 

KTip,  cor.  Kvdvfos  ;  kv^os  ;  Kvbwvea ;  Kv\ivdpos  ; 

KT]p6s,  cera.  Kvfi^a\ou  ;   Kif/xfirj  ;  Kvfitvou  ;  Kxrwd- 

KTJTos,  cete.  pi(T(Tos ;  Kvirpos  ;  KvprSs ;  Kvo»y,  etc. 

ki^ootSs,  cista. 


[f 

{(^, 


EXCURSUS. 


^^^OI^IVE^ 


Vi\j.(a,  gemo. 
yeuos,  genua. 
yfpauos,  grus. 
7euu>,  gusto. 
yrj^eo),  gaudeo. 
yivvos,  liinnus. 
yvpo<i,  gyrus. 
yiyyuxTKcOf  yv^l/os,  etc. 

Latin. 

caedes,  (5ado,  ^cara. 

caelameri. 

cnemenium,  caedimentum. 

caerefolium,  x^-^p^^^^^oy. 

caerimonia,  cerimonia,  Kalpyj. 

cedo,  incedo,  kIco. 

celeber,  analog.  Engl,  clever. 

centum,   Germ,    hund-ert,   (Hand); 

10  X  10  fingers  =  100  i.  e  ,  decies 

decern  {dig.h.  X  dig-ii)  =  centum. 
■  cerebruni,  Gr.  hirn. 
cerno,  certus,  cretum  :  Kplv<a. 
cernuus,  forming  a  break,  an  angle, 
cerris,  quercus. 
cervix,  analog,  to  cernuus. 
ceu,  ce  -(-  ve. 
ceva,  Gr.  kuh,  E.  cow. 
cibus,  Gr.  kauen,  E.  to  chew, 
cicada,  from  crying  ci-ci,  -ci. 
cicatrix,  ci-reduplication  of  cat,  cut. 
cicer,  Gr.  kicher,  E.  chick-pea. 
cicindela,  from  candela. 
ciconia,  in   the  dialect  of  Praeneste 

conia  ;  ci-redupl.  ^ 

cicur,  redupl.  ;  from  cura. 
cicuta,  redupl.  from  caedo. 
cidaris,  Hebr.  keter. 
cilnius,  Etrusc.  cfelne. 
cimex,  from  /cevreoj,  cfr.  cicatrix, 
cingo,  of  the  same  germ  with  circum. 
cinis,  Koi/is  (/caico.) 
cinifes,  (tkvlk^s. 
cippus,  analog,  to  columna,  cylinder, 

from  cyclos. 
cirrus,  analog,  to  circulus. 
cis,  related  to   hie,  here,  ego,  opposed 

to  trans,  t(h)ere,  citer,  Aiiher,  cUra. 
cito,  E.  to  quote. 

civis,  (/ceT/^ai)  cfr.  symbol  of  Aere-nesa.) 
coena, anciently  coesna, from  cum-edo. 
coenum,  cunio,  Gr.  koth. 
coepio,  co-apio. 
coero,  euro,  and  many  others. 


gero,  E.  carry. 


German. 

Gnhnen,  -x^au^^^  X*^»  ^^'^* 
gallen,  Ka\((i},  I.  kal.  ;  E   yell, 
geben,  corresponds  in  a  polar  relation 

to  capio. 
gehen,  kj'co,  cieo. 
geis,  hoedus. 
gelb,  AS.  geolu  ;  Lat.  gilyus,  helvus; 

E.  yellow, 
gel  tic,  yav\6s. 
gemein,  communis,  KoiySs. 
gemse,  K€ixas. 
gergel,  yvpos. 

gessen,  get,  G.  gita,  ydu,  cio. 
gestern,  G.  gistra  ;  x^^^  5  hesternus. 
getzen,  ergotzen,  yibivco,  gaudeo. 
giebel,  gipfel,  G.  gibla,  culmen,  caput, 
giessen,  geussen,  G.  giuta  ;  x^^>  §^^' 

to,  E.  gush, 
ginnen,  G.  ginna,  76Vco. 
gfirten.  G.  gairda,  yvp6ca. 
gori,  I.  a-gere,  au-gere,  fa-cere, 

Hagen,  hegen,  exw..  habeo. 
heben,  G.  hafia,  capio. 
hehlen,  K\€l(a,  celo. 
helm,  Kd\vfjLij.a,  galea, 
hengst,  hinnus. 
herz,  G.  harto  ;  cor. 
hin,  hinc. 

hiillen,  G.  hulia  ;  koKvitto},  celo. 
hiirde,  hort ;  Kvpri]  ;  carea,  crates, 
hiiten,  E.   to  heed,  to  hide  ;  /ceui^w, 
celo. 

Kafig,  cavea  :  E.  cave. 

kanker,  ydyypaiva,  cancer. 

kase,  caseus. 

kasten,  cista. 

kebe,  corresp.  to  cubo. 

kehle,  hohl ;   gula,  koiXos^  cavus  ;  AS. 

ceol,  celox,  French,  quille. 
kehren,  yvpoco. 
keichen,  cough  ;  kukvu. 
kelch,  Kd\v^. 
keller,  cellarium,  celo. 
kennen,  G.  kan,  co-gnoseo. 
kerben,  to  carve  ;  Keipoj,  carpo. 
keiker,  KapKapop,  career, 
kerl ;  churl ;  Kovpos,  K6pos,  barbar.  L. 

ceorlus. 


240  EXCURSUS. 

surface.  The  circle  would  be  no  surface ;  for  which  of  the  diameters  is 
long  1  which  is  broad  7  which  is  thick  7  The  definition  of  a  solid  or  body^ 
has,  length,  breadth  and  thickness,^^  is  absurd;  for,  which  of  the  three  di- 
mensions of  the  cube  (the  measure  of  all  solids),  is  long,  broad,  or  thick  1 
the  same  may  be  asked  about  the  diameters  of  a  globe.  This  would-be  de- 
finition, therefore  excludes  all  round  bodies,  the  smallest  globules  and  all 
celestial  bodies,  from  the  category  of  solids. 

By  defining  the  line,  as  the  "  distance  of  two  points ;"  the  surface  as  "  a 
complex  of  two  lines,"  and  the  body  as  "  a  complex  of  three  lines  ;^*  a  clear 
idea  is  obtained  of  all  geometric  magnitudes,  limited  by  lines.  The  curves 
being  a  different  order  of  magnitudes ;  the  circle  and  other  surfaces  lim- 
ited by  curves,  the  globe,  etc.,  require  analogous  definitions. 

The  simplest  ideas  of  the  simplest  things  should  be  simply  expressed. 
The  words  line  and  curve  are  themselves  definitions,  if  these  words  are 
properly  understood. 


A  bulky  book  could  be  filled  with  rectifications  of  the  t«rms  and  of  the 
phrases  which  disgrace  our  elementary  and  popular  books  of  instruction. 
The  common  saying  "  mathematically  trne'^  betrays  two  black  s])ots  of  our 
would-be  systems,  viz.,  the  want  of  a  clear  conception  of  what  is  true  and 
a  mental  callosity  for  other  so-called  sciences.  Is  it  not  as  clear  to  an  un- 
polluted mind,  that  God  exists,  as  that  a  triangle  has  three  sides  1  Is  it 
less  true  that  man  consists  of  soul  and  of  body,  than  that  2x3  =  6'?  Can 
we  conceive  the  evidence  of  axioms  without  previous  self-consciousness '? 
Is  it  less  certain  that  water  is  composed  of  hydrogen  and  of  oxygen,  than 
that  a  square  is  composed  of  two  equal  triangles  1 — There  is  but  one  God, 
one  soul,  one  truth,  one  science  ! 

But  how  can  accuracy  of  ideas  be  advocated  with  success,  when  "  pub- 
lic opinion"  can  be  insulted  by  Seba  Smiths  who  represent  sausages  as 
lines,  matrasses  as  surfaces'?  When  the  most  revolutionary  newspaper  of 
New- York  patronizes  that  theory,  together  with  "  Mysterious  Knockings?^^ 

Smithsoti's  spirit  should  knock  the  Institution  founded  by  his  liberal 
bequest,  from  its  one-sided  and  nepotic  support  of  mere  coarse  material- 
ism (set  off"  with  pseudo-spiritualism  of  legendary  generation)  into  the  ful- 
filment of  its  bounden  DUTY,  which  is  blazed  forth,  for  the  satisfaction  of 
its  Regents  blasds,  with  the  emblazoned  pompous  title  "  Diffusion  of 
Knowledge  among  Men." 


N 


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